Transcript Carnivorous Plants

Carnivorous Plants
Nepenthes hamata
Beautiful, Strange and Truly Wondrous
Carnivorous Plants
Classic examples of ecological resource trading
• Adapted for nutrientpoor soils, wet
climates, bright light
• Like all green plants,
photosynthesize (I.e.
they’re producers)
• Utilize excess sugars
from photosynthesis
(which only requires
sunlight, water, and
CO2) as bait
• Attract and absorb
macronutrients P-K-N
(e.g. fertilizer) from
prey
• Hence, the adaptation
of carnivory turns
plentiful sunlight and
water into essential
nutrients that allow the
plants to compete in
impoverished soils
Carnivorous Plants
As a result, almost all species have similar needs
• Soil with low mineral
content (usually acidic)
• Plenty of pure water
(no salts, dissolved
solids, metals, etc.)
• Lots of sunlight
• Little competition
from alien species
• Prey (mostly for
flowering and fruiting)
• As can be expected
from this list, most are
extremely endangered:
– Development of the
coastal swamps of the
Southeast USA
– Deforestation of SE
Asia
– Pollution of wetlands
– Imported competition
(Purple Loosestrife)
Genera of Carnivorous Plants
Over 550 Species; three basic trapping mechanisms
Active traps
Sticky traps
Pitfall traps
(“steel trap” and
“trap door”)
(flypaper)
(pitchers)
• Aldrovanda
• Dionaea
• Utricularia
Other/passive
(Minnow traps)
• Genlisea
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Byblis
Drosera
Drosophyllum
Pinguicula
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Darlingtonia
Cephalotus
Heliamphora
Nepenthes
Sarracenia
Venus Flytrap
Dionaea muscipula
Venus Flytrap
Dionaea muscipula
Trigger hairs
Flowers and seeds
Drosera – The Sundews
D.citrina
D.
microscapa
D.ericks. x
pulchella
D.dichrosepala
D.echinoblasta
D.ericksoniae
D.mannii
D.
occidentalis
D.oreopodeon
D.paleacea
paleacea
D.pulchella
(pink)
D.silvicola
D.spilos
D.sp.Warriup
D.stelliflora
Drosera multifida
Drosera capensis
Drosera capensis in action!!!
Sticky traps
+
Leaf blade
movement to
aid digestion
Tuberous Sundew
Drosera peltata
Other stickies: Byblis liniflora
The Rainbow Plant
Other stickies: Pinguicula
The Butterworts
Sarracenia - North American
Pitcher Plants
S.purpurea
Sarracenia flava
Sarracenia leucophylla and
Sarracenia psittacina
Flytrap and Sarracenia Care
• High light levels (full
• Use peat moss based
sun is usually best)
medium (mix w/ limefree sand or perlite)
• Never allow to dry out
• All are native to the
• Use pure water with
USA (Flytraps from
few dissolved solids or
North Carolina)…
salts (deionized/distilled/
reverse osmosis/rainwater) • …and require a
dormancy period
• No fertilizer!
Drosera Care
• Temperate
– Similar to Dionaea and
Sarracenia needs
– But may tolerate dilute
fertilizer: ¼ strength
Mir-acid
– And lower light levels
• Pygmy
– Dormancy required
– May reproduce
asexually by gemmae
• Tuberous
– Need dormancy
generally in the
summer in USA
– Can tolerate direct sun
– Some seeds actually
need to be exposed to
fire to germinate.
Nepenthes - “Monkey Cup”
Tropical Vine Pitcher Plant
N.burbidgeae
N.lowii
Nepenthes - “Monkey Cup”
Tropical Vine Pitcher Plant
• Over 100 species
distributed in SE Asia
• Found from sea level
to 2000+ m elevation
Credit: Malesiana Tropicals
• Pitcher size from 1” to
more than 2 liters
• Leaves up to 1 meter
length
• Some scramble, some
climb many meters
• Rats and baby
monkeys have been
found in pitchers
Nepenthes Care
• More tolerant of
minerals in the water
and drought
• Separated into
“Lowland” (<1000m)
and “Highland”
(>1000m) species
• Lowlands expect
20+°C and high
humidity at all times
(~ terrarium)
• Highland species
expect (and often
need) a cool night and
open, less damp
medium (sphagnum)
• Some highlands even
grow as epiphytes.
• No dormancy
• Propagated from
cuttings, tissue culture,
and sometimes seed
Nepenthes ampullaria
Lowland species
“”detritivore”
Nepenthes bicalcarata
Large lowland species:
span 2m, vines 8+m
Symbiotic with ant species
Nepenthes albomarginata
(blue spotted form)
Lowland
species
Specialized to eat
Highland
termites
species
Lowland
species
Nepenthes
gracilis
Nepenthes
campanulata
Nepenthes truncata
Lowland
species
Nepenthes
aristolochioides
Highland
species
Highland
species
Nepenthes macrophylla
Highland
species
Cephalotus follicularis
Albany Pitcher Plant
Darlingtonia californica
Cobra Lily
South American Pitcher Plant
Heliamphora heterodoxa
Carnivorous Plant Societies
• International Carnivorous Plant Society
– www.carnivorousplants.org
• New England Carnivorous Plant Society
– Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI
– www.necps.org
N.bicalcarata