Carnivorous Plants
If you want to add a unique touch to your garden, carnivorous plants are bound to get attention. There are several interesting exotic species to consider, such as the ever popular Venus Flytrap or the Cobra plant. In areas that have high populations of bugs, they can lowers the amount of flies or other insects that bother you. The size of the plant you select will determine the amount of insects consumed, however, the entertainment they provide for both adults and children alike, is well worth the investment.
There are five different types of carnivorous plants. The most common type, is the Venus Flytrap found in cultivated varieties of the Dionaea muscipula family. Snap traps rely on a mouth that close in around its pray, where the plant will eat whatever it catches.
Once an insect is captured, the plant closes its trap tightly around the meal and bathes it in digestive juices that dissolve the insect’s soft, inner parts. Digestion takes five to 12 days, after which the trap reopens, then the insect’s exoskeleton blows away in the wind or is washed away by rain.
Plants within the Venus Flytrap family have a large variety of different colored species found in various sizes.
Flypaper traps are among some of the coolest carnivorous plants. These plants secrete a glue which traps and breaks down insects for nourishment. The type of secretion created by this particular plant can cause skin irritation to humans and therefore should be treated with caution.
The only carnivorous plant with a true “trapdoor” is the remarkable bladderwort. Numerous, tiny glands inside the bladder absorb most of the internal water and expel it on the outside, and as a result, a partial vacuum is produced inside the bladder and the pressure on the outside becomes greater than the inside. Once an insect or aquatic species has been trapped within, escape is difficult. Bladderworts are more commonly found underwater than above ground, which is another distinct characteristic from other carnivorous plants.
Another favorite carnivorous plant are the lobster-pot traps, and they come with a chamber that is easy to enter, and whose exit is either difficult to find or obstructed by inward-pointing bristles.
Corkscrew plants are interesting, in that, the inside of the plant mouth is filled with downward pointing obstructions, used to prevent it’s prey from escaping it’s grasp.
For those interested in borderline species, there are several varieties of plants that do not meet all of the requirements of carnivorous plants, but have sharing characteristics. These plants include the Brocchinia Roridula and members of the Martyniaceae species. They are not considered to be in the same classification as true carnivorous plants because they do not, attract, kill and digest prey.
If you decided to plant or house any type of carnivorous plant, you will need to be sure to keep them out of reach from children. While most of them are relatively harmless to humans, digestion of these plants should be avoided, due to the digestive enzymes that the plant utilizes to break down prey.
