Nepenthes | Pitcher Plant

Well, let’s cut right to the chase… Growing Hobby often sells a pitcher plant that is known as the Shrew Loo. Yes. The Nepenthes lowii is a large pitcher plant that invites small rodents to lick its lid while straddling the pitcher. Droppings fall in, and the pitcher plant gets much-needed nitrogen. I’m serious. You can even buy a sticker.

Here’s the amazing info about Nepenthes: The plant is a rosette of long leaves which have heavy veins running through the center that turn into tendrils holding pitchers at the end of the leaves. There are two types of pitchers. The lower ones attract crawling insects, while the upper ones attract those that fly. The lower ones are typically brighter in color and sometimes sport leafy ladders. The pitchers contain sweet nectar glands to entice insects and intoxicate them, causing them to stumble into the pitcher.  Add to that – the rim of the pitcher is often very brightly colored and extremely slippery. Bugs that hide under the lid to escape rain easily slip into the pitcher while holding onto the rim. The lid has a purpose, also. It covers the pitcher until it is mature enough to capture prey, and it keeps rain from falling in the pitcher and diluting the digestive enzymes that dissolve the insects. And just in case the bug is still trying to escape, the inside walls of the pitcher plant are waxy and slippery. Bye, bug.

Drosera | Sundew

Sundews are knows as flypaper traps for their method of trapping prey. Sundews use glistening drops of sweet smelling adhesive that resemble dew on hairs of each of their tentacles. As insects land to get a sweet meal, they become the meal itself. The hairs wrap around the prey to immobilize it. Glands on the leaves produce enzymes that allow the nutrients to be absorbed directly through the leaves. Only the exoskeleton remains.

Sundews are found in nearly every continent, in tropical and in the Siberian tundra. Growing Hobby usually carries sundews from South Africa.

Sarracenia | North American Pitcher Plant

Sarracenia relies on its beauty and sweet aroma to attract insects. The North American Pitcher Plant is considered a pitfall trap because insects simply fall into it. But it’s not that simple.

Sarracenia has lots of tricks to lure insects. It produces a sweet intoxicating nectar down the sides of the pitcher. By the time crawling insects reach the lip of the pitcher, they drunkenly fall in. The cover over the pitcher is typically transparent. Flying insects think they can fly through it, but they are bounced back into the tube. Once inside the pitcher, flying insects create a vortex when trying to escape. Smooth waxy surfaces on the inside of the pitcher keep all prey from escaping. Most Sarracenia secrete enzymes that digest insects, but the purple variety has a larger opening that collects rainwater which drowns prey. The water holds bacteria that aid in digesting nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.

Dionaea – Venus Fly Trap

The Venus Fly Trap is the most well known of the carnivorous plant world. Its leafy traps seem simple, but they are programmed using a tripwire, internal timer, and electrical impulses. Yep.

The fly trap opens to lure insects with sweet nectar. There are several trigger hairs that signal when an insect has shown interest. If the hairs are triggered twice (think about double-clicking your mouse), within a few seconds, an electrical impulse forces the trap to shut.If the insect is large enough, it will  be digested. Smaller insects can escape between the teeth, and if it turns out to be a false alarm, such as a leaf or stick, the jaws will open again. If a larger insect starts to struggle, the plant will clasp the jaws firmly and secrete enzymes to digest the insect’s soft tissues over a few days’ time. Later it will open its jaws, inviting other insects to dine on the leftovers.

Each trap can be used up to 3 times before turning black and die off. The plant will use the nutrients to grow more traps.