Insectivorous Plant

Insectivorous Plant

An Insectivorous Plant

Some plants live in situations where their roots cannot obtain sufficient nutrients, and so they have evolved mechanisms to trap insects and then digest the contents of their bodies. There are three groups of these insectivorous plants - the Fly Traps with spiny-edged leaves which are hinged in the middle, the Sticky-leaved Plants with hair which secrete insect-catching fluid, and the Pitcher Plants with leaves which are water-filled funnels. These plants are very difficult to grow indoors - water with rainwater, keep the compost constantly moist and the surrounding air humid, and feed very occasionally with tiny bits of meat or dead flies. But even if you follow these rules their life span in the average living room will be quite short. Don't be put off - they will arouse more interest during this limited period than some plants you have had for many years!

Pitcher plant

Pitcher plants are carnivourous plant whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over evolutionary time. However, some pitcher plant genera (such as Nepenthes) are placed within clades consisting mostly of fly paper traps: this indicates that this view may be too simplistic, and some pitchers may have evolved from the common ancestors of today's flypaper traps by loss of mucilage.

PITCHER PLANT

Whatever their evolutionary origins, foraging, flying or crawling insectspigments, and nectar bribes. The sides of the pitcher are slippery and may be grooved in such a way so as to ensure that the insects cannot climb out. The small bodies of liquid contained within the pitcher traps are called phytotelmates They drown the insect, and the body of it is gradually dissolved. This may occur by bacterial action (the bacteria being washed into the pitcher by rainfall) or by enzymes secreted by the plant itself. Furthermore, some pitcher plants contain mutualistic insect larva which feed on trapped prey, and whose excretathe plant absorbs.[1]Whatever the mechanism of digestion, the prey items are converted into a solution of amino acids peptidephosphates, ammoniumand urea,from which the plant obtains its mineral nutrition (particularly nitrogenand phosphorus). Like all carnivorous plants, they grow in locations where the soil is too poor in minerals and/or too acidic for most plants to survive.

NepenthaceaeNepenthaceae contains a single genus,

Nepenthes, containing about 130 species and numerous hybrids and cultivars. In these old World pitcher plants, the pitchers are borne at the end of tendrils that extend from the midrib of an otherwise unexceptional leaf. The plants themselves are often climbers, accessing the canopy of their habitatsusing the aforementioned tendrils, although others are found on the ground in forest clearings, or as epiphytes on trees.

Type Of Pitcher In contrast, the New World pitcher plants (Sarraceniaceae), which

comprise three genera, are ground-dwelling herbs whose pitchers arise from a horizontal rhizome. In this family, the entire leaf forms the pitcher, whereas in the Nepenthaceae, the pitcher arises from the terminal portion of the leaf. The species of Heliampora, which are popularly known as marsh pitchers (or erroneously as sun pitchers), have a simple rolled-leaf pitcher, at the tip of which is a spoon-like structure that secretes nectar. They are restricted to areas of high rainfall in South Amrica. The North American genus Sarracenia are the trumpet pitchers, which have a more complex trap than Heliamphora, with an operculum, which prevents excess accumulation of rainwater in most of the species. The single species in the Californian genus Darlingtoaa is popularly known as the cobra plant, due to its possession of an inflated "lid" with elegant false-exits, and a forked "tongue", which serves to ferry ants and other prey to the entrance of the pitcher. The species in the genus Sarracenia readily hybridise, making their classification a complex matter.

Catopsis berteronianaCatopsis berteroniana is an epiphytic

bromeliad thought to be a possible carnivorous plant, similar to Brocchinic reducta, although the evidence is equivocal. Its native range is from southern Florid to southern Brazil. It generally grows on the unshaded twigs of trees, and appears to trap more insects in its tank than other bromeliads of comparable size. There are several other species in the genus, none of which is believed to be carnivorous

B.reducta B. reducta, like many other bromeliads, forms a water-storing

cup with its tightly-overlapping leaves. The leaves surrounding the cup of B. reducta are coated with loose, waxy scales. These scales are highly reflective of ultraviolet light. Since many insects are attracted to ultraviolet (it is also reflected by many flowers), this is an efficient lure. The water in the cup also emits a sweet odor, which may serve to attract ants and other insects.

The scales, being loose, provide a poor foothold for insects landing on them. The unfortunate creatures slip into the water-filled cup and eventually drown.

It has been argued that B. reducta is not actually carnivorous in the sense of other such plants because the production of digestive enzymes could not be found. However, in 2005 it was shown that the plant produces at least phosphatase and thus is a carnivorous plant in sensu stricto. The enzymes and bacteria digest the trapped insects and thus release the nutrients for absorption by the leaves.

Purple pitcher plantSarracenia purpurea, commonly known as

the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae. Its range includes almost the entire eastern seaboard of the United States, the Great Lakes, and south eastern Canada, making it the most common and broadly distributed pitcher plant, as well as the only member of the genus that inhabits cold temperate climates. The species is the floral emblem of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SarraceniaLike other species of Sarracenia, S. purpurea obtains

most of its nutrients through prey capture.[1] However, prey acquisition is said to be inefficient, with less than 1% of the visiting prey captured within the pitcher. Even so, anecdotal evidence by growers often shows that pitchers quickly fill up with prey during the warm summer months. Prey fall into the pitcher and drown in the rainwater that collects in the base of each leaf. Prey items such as flies, ant, spiders, and even moths, are then digested by an invertebrate community, made up mostly by the mosquito Wyeomyia smithii and the midge Metriocnemus knabi. Protists, rotifers (including Habrotrocha rosa), and bacteria form the base of inquiline food web that shreds and mineralizes available prey, making nutrients available to the plant.

Insectivorous plant

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