Venus Flytrap: Queen of the Carnivorous Plants - Plant Humanities Lab.
The Venus flytrap is one of the most well-known carnivorous plants and it eats mostly insects and arachnids.
Many find white trumpet pitcher plants (Sarracenia leucophylla) the prettiest of the carnivorous plants. Native to the Southeast, these pitchers can have stunning, dark veins in a pattern that stands out nicely against the pure white background.
The waterwheel plant (Aldrovanda vesiculosa) is an aquatic plant and the only underwater snap trap carnivore. Waterwheel plants grow worldwide, in nutrient-poor freshwater swamps. Their tiny traps grow up to one centimetre in length and capture prey including mosquito larvae, small fish and tadpoles.
A rumor is found in Central America that there are vicious plants that eat meat. The tree has long spikes that impale the victim and do not discriminate. According to legend, the spikes remain out of sight until pressure is on them.
†Archaeamphora longicervia
The species was originally described as a pitcher plant with close affinities to extant members of the family Sarraceniaceae. This would make it the earliest known carnivorous plant and the only known fossil record of Sarraceniaceae, or the New World pitcher plant family.
Though there is debate among archeobotanists, the oldest carnivorous plant fossil may well be Archaeamphora longicervia, found in 2005 near Jinzhou, China. It is from the Early Cretaceous beds of the Yixian Formation, and is dated at 124.6 million years ago. Nine specimens have been found.
Water – When starting out, many people ask whether tap water will kill a venus flytrap – and the answer is yes. Venus flytraps cannot be given tap water because the build-up of minerals will kill them. They need pure water. Use rain water or distilled water to feed them.
Which carnivorous plant is the easiest to grow? Most beginners start out with a Venus flytrap. This plant is the best-known carnivorous plant, with distinctive “jaws” that clamp shut on insects when they try to sample the plant's nectar.
Catching this on film for the first time, researchers have discovered that bladderworts engulf prey in less than a millisecond (slowed down to a 10th of the real speed in the first part of video), making this the fastest trapping mechanism of any carnivorous plant, including the Venus Flytrap.
Forceful Hunter: Tigers
A tiger's bite can exert approximately 1,000 pounds of force per square inch. The tiger is one of the largest carnivores in the world, eclipsed only by the polar and grizzly bears. The most intimidating species, the Siberian tiger, can potentially weigh up to 800 pounds.
Drosera brevifolia (the dwarf, small or red sundew), is a carnivorous plant of the family Droseraceae and is the smallest sundew species native to the United States.
Australia is home to the highest number of carnivorous plants in the world all thanks to our ancient soils having gone relatively undisturbed by lava flows or melting ice sheets for millions of years.
And it turns out that if you stick your finger into a trap, nothing's really going to happen. If you move your finger around a little bit to trigger those trigger hairs then the trap will start to close.
Light: The first reason why your Venus Flytrap is turning black may have to do with light. The plant needs a lot of sunlight to stay healthy, so if your plant is not getting enough direct sunlight, it may turn black. This is more common in the winter months, when the days are shorter.
When the Venus flytrap closes shut on a tasty bug meal, for example, it releases chemicals that liquefy all the soft parts. The plant eats the delicious juice, but opens back up to let the crunchy bits fall out. Those solids are waste, and could be considered plant poop.
Welwitschia mirabilis: The world's toughest plant.
The most expensive carnivorous plant known to have been sold to date is a hybrid Nepenthes pitcher plant (N. rajah x N. peltata), named "Leviathan", which was developed by carnivorous plant grower Jeremiah Harris of Colorado, USA.
Venus flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, with trapped fly. The largest Venus flytrap measured 2.4 inches across at the midpoint.
Botanists have discovered two new species of butterwort (genus Pinguicula), a type of carnivorous plant, in Ecuador. Only one species of butterwort was known in Ecuador before the new discoveries. Butterworts are a group of flowering plants with about 115 known species.