Carnivorous Plants
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Feb 9th, 2017
E dited later on Feb 28 t h , 2017
Table of Contents
Introduction……………….
1
The Venus flytrap……….
1
I.
Facts
II.
Appearance
III.
Digestion
Cape Sundew……………..
I.
Facts
II.
Appearance and Digestion
2
Bladderwort………………..
I.
3
Facts
Conclusion………………….
3
Sources I Used…………….
3
Introduction
God’s carnivorous plants are amazing! Have you ever heard about a Venus flytrap? Did you ever wonder if
there are other plants that eat meat? If you have, would you have guessed there are over six hundred
seventy species?
The Venus flytrap
Dionaea muscipula
Venus Flytraps are probably the most familiar of the carnivorous plants. The Venus flytrap is native to
the East Coast of the United States, as well as North Carolina and South Carolina. Venus flytraps are not
tropical plants, and must have winter dormancy, or it will weaken and eventually die. Venus flytraps are
popular cultivated plants, but have a reputation for being hard to grow. Venus flytraps generally eat
insects, and cultivated flytraps do not seem to do well when fed bits of hamburger by their caretaker.
Appearance
(Wikipedia)
The Venus flytrap also has a five-pointed flower with a yellow-green middle, with light gray stripes on
the petals. Its seeds are shiny and black.
Digestion
The Venus flytrap is capable of rapid movement. You cannot poke a Venus flytrap with a stick and make
it close. You see, Venus flytraps have tiny hairs that trigger the trap. To prevent snapping on non-living
things, you need to trigger a hair for the trap for it to prepare to shut. Less than 20 seconds later, 2 hairs
or one hair twice in rapid succession will be needed to actually shut the trap. It will close tighter as the
insect struggles, and 5 more hairs trigger the digestion. It takes about ten days to digest.
Cape Sundew
Drosera capensis
The Cape sundew, or Drosera capensis, is a small plant that forms rosettes like the Venus flytrap, and is
native to South Africa. It is widespread, and has medicinal uses. Some species of sundew are listed as
endangered due to loss of wetland.
Appearance and Digestion
Sundews have brightly colored tentacles that make sticky liquid that traps its prey. Once some unlucky
insect is trapped in the mucilage, more liquid is secreted around the insect, and the digestion begins.
After digestion, the sundew uncurls itself and the skeleton of the insect falls away.
Bladderwort
Utricularia
The Bladderwort is widespread, and the common bladderwort is found in Asia and Europe. It does not
put down roots. Bladderwort flowers are generally yellow or purple, and in aquatic species flowers are
the only parts of the plant that stick above water. Only about twenty percent of bladderworts are
aquatic, while the rest are terrestrial.
Bladderworts have little vacuum-bladder-things that, when triggered, suck prey and the water around it
into the bladder. This happens extremely fast, less than ten to fifteen thousandths of a second. They
digest the prey in a few hours, but some prey live for days. Bladderworts generally eat mosquito larvae,
fish fry, and young tadpoles.
Conclusion
God’s creation is amazing! Carnivorous plants, animals, nature, and humans all glorify our wonderful
Creator. Praise Him!
We looked at the familiar Venus flytrap, which is not tropical, and how the traps know when to shut. We
looked at the Cape Sundew, and how it traps and digests its prey. And we looked at the Bladderworts,
and their vacuum traps. “We stand in awe” indeed!
I wrote this because it was for school and I had to 
Sources I Used
Wikipedia