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Welcome to the Carnivorous Plants information website. We
have several articles all about Carnivorous Plants including:
About
Carnivorous Plants
Carnivorous plants are meat eating plants that need the nutrients from
their natural growing conditions, like air, water and soil, to live as
well as the nutrients from the insects and other bugs and arachnids that
they consume. Carnivorous plants grow naturally in swampy areas around the
world where the water that is constantly running over and below the ground
washes the nutrients away in the soil. In order to get those missing
nutrients, the plants have adapted and learned to eat the meat from the
small animals that land on them. Some popular carnivorous plants that you
can purchase and grow at home are venus fly traps, sundew plants, and
pitcher plants.
According to the International Carnivorous Plant Society (www.sarracenia.com), to be classified as a carnivorous plant:
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Prey must find its way to the trap, and is usually encouraged to do so
by attractants fabricated by the plant.
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Prey must be captured by the plant.
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The prey must die while in the clutches of the plant.
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The prey must be digested.
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The nutrients from the prey must be assimilated by the plant.
There are many carnivorous plants that can be found in the wilderness
around the world. Here’s a bit about each of the 3 most popular
carnivorous plants:
The Dionaea muscipula, more commonly known as the venus fly trap, is a
carnivorous plant that looks like a big mouth with teeth that opens all
the way up and just waits for an animal, like a spider or an insect, to
land on it. The mouth (trap) will then close around the prey and the plant
will eat it.
The way a venus fly trap captures its food is by waiting for a life
form to land or crawl on the trap – twice. The trap won’t close on the
first landing because it isn’t sure that it is an animal. It could have
just been a leaf falling. But when it feels the animal again in a very
short period of time, it will close in on the bug very quickly and begin
the process of eating it. Venus fly traps can be found growing in the
swamps of the Carolinas mostly, but have also been found in the Pine
Barrons of New Jersey and in Northern Florida.
The sundew, scientific name Drosera, looks like a beautiful flower or a
very cool looking stem with dewdrops all over it, but the dewdrops are
actually mucilage (like mucous) at the ends of the tentacles that it uses
to trap its prey. The sundew preys on insects primarily, and wait for the
insects to land on the inviting flowers. The insect gets stuck in the
mucilage and then gets digested. There are about 170 different species of
sundew plants in places like Africa, Venezuela and Australia.
The pitcher plants come in all shapes and sizes, and grow around the
world in different variations and species. The North American pitcher
plant looks like a rolled up leaf forming a tube. Inside that tube is a
gel substance that traps insects that make their way into the tube. Some
species of pitcher plants have a fly paper type of trap rather than a tube
trap, which is called a pitfall trap. Some pitcher plants look like
flowers, some like stems, and some look like leaves.
You can purchase these carnivorous plants online and have them
delivered right to your home or office. They make a wonderful conversation
piece, and some people even consider them a sort of a pet. No matter what
you think of your carnivorous plant, you will think it is fun.
Our articles are free for you to copy and distribute. Make sure to give
http://www.carnivorous--plants.com
credit for the article.
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