I love carnivorous plants!
Yes I have to admit it, I am not your ordinary gardener, I like growing carnivorous plants. They represent to me the quirky side of God's creation. Plants that hunt insects, now that appeals to me!
There are many kinds of carnivorous plants, the most famous is perhaps the Venus Fly Trap (dionaea muscipula) which closes its trap on its prey and they are no more. There are are plants that produce a sticky honey like substance that attracts insects, these are called sundews (drosera) and have many different forms.
There are other carnivorous plants that form pitchers into which the insets fall and cannot get out, (sarracinia) some of these plants give off an odor that is undetectable to humans but insects love it and they come running when they smell it only end up staying for dinner!
Perhaps my favorite carnivorous plant is a bladderwort - (utricularia) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrR9e99pic4 This plant lives in water and forms bladder traps. These bladders are empty and have a trap door that is activated by touching the very fine hair attached to it. A mosquito larvae or other water bug brushes up against the hair the door opens water rushes into the bladder as does the bug, the door shuts and the bug is digested.
I thank God for these types of plants, I get tremendous enjoyment our of growing them.
No comments:
Post a Comment