Friday, September 18, 2009
Addendum-Pitcher Plants
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap....foraging, flying or crawling insects such as flies are attracted to the cavity formed by the cupped leaf, often by visual lures such as anthocyanin pigments, 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 phytotelmata. 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. --Wikipedia
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4 comments:
Oooo, thanks for the update...Sounds like ferocious plants. What little boy wouldn't love the thought of insect-eating plants...well, mine...but anyway. ;)
Ahh, gotcha. I can just see your boys' eyes light up at the mere thought of bug-gobbling plants.
I'm certainly digging it. ^_^ Nobody can complain about plants that eat other things. Except venus fly traps. Those things are about as hard to keep alive as anything else.
Ok, now those plants look familiar. Vicious little things but really beautiful too. Reminds me of my venus fly trap I had in middle school and thought it was the coolest thing ever.
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