Carnivorous plant

A carnivorous plant is a plant that derives some or most of its nutrients (but not energy) by trapping and consuming animals, especially insects. Carnivorous plants usually grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs and rock outcropings.

Types of carnivorous plants:

• Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)
• Pitcher plants (Sarracenia, Nepenthes, Darlingtonia, Heliamphora, and Cephalotus)
• Sundews (Drosera)
• Butterworts (Pinguicula
• Bladderworts (Utricularia)
• Genlisea (Corkscrew Plant)
• Drosophyllum (Portugese Dewy Pine)
• Aldrovanda (Waterwheel Plant)
• Brocchinia reducta (an epiphytic bromeliad
• Polypompholyx (Fairy Aprons)
• Triphyophyllum (a tropical liana)

Charles Darwin wrote the first well-known treatise on carnivorous plants in 1875. A fanciful carnivorous plant with an insatiable appetite was the central theme of the comedic play, Little Shop of Horrors, made from a more serious 1960's movie of the same name.

Fictional carnivorous plants include the triffids presented in John Wyndham's book ''The Day of the Triffids.

External Links

• The Carnivorous Plant FAQ
• Carnivorous plant discussion forum
• Carnivorous Plant Database
• International Carnivorous Plant Society, provides an extensive FAQ and links to the Carnivorous Plant Web Ring.
• Insectivorous Plants, by Charles Darwin