Plants That Eat Meat

                     Weird Plants That Eat Meat

 

 Have you ever heard about plant-eating bugs, insects and animals??

 No

But this is true.

There are fascinating, exotic, and bizarre Plants that kill animals and eat meat.

After reading this article your thinking about plant kingdom may change, you’re full concept of non-vegetarian may also change.

Leaves of these plants are evolved in such a way that they can trap insects, bugs, and small animals including birds.

 

Carnivorous Plants

 

Only plants that can catch and also digest insects and bugs come under the strict definition of Carnivorous plants. You will be surprised to know that there are about 600 plant varieties that fit into the definition of carnivorous plants.

Most of the carnivorous plants eat small insects and bugs but there are study which shows carnivorous plants in tropical areas capture frogs and rats and some time birds.

One of the species for which many agricultural and biological students are aware of is Venus flytrap.

It has unique jaws that can trigger once flies and other small insects come close vicinity to the plant.

This the plant is sold as novelties and you can notice some curious child triggering its sinister traps with a pen or pencil to see it’s wonderful and fast, rapid response.

 

 

How they kill insects, bugs, etc.

 

Carnivorous plants are specialized to catch and trap insects. They are basically two types.

1.  Active – these plants have leaves or any other part of the plant which closes and trap their prey inside.

2.  Passive – these plants have some type of structure like a jar which works like a pitfall. Prey fall or slip into it and can’t come out.

 

Most carnivorous plants have beautiful colors and other ways to attract and lure innocent victims.

There is a Drosera plant in which tentacles on the leaves secrete a sticky fluid which attracts and lure the insect and once it comes to the leaf of plant it gets stuck in this fluid and digested by the plant . In India only one species is found which is Aldrovanda. This is free-floating plant found in salt marshes of sunderbans, India.

 

 

But why they do it and for what

 

Normally plants take nitrogen from soil through roots but in acidic bogs environment and rock outcroppings area, due to no chemically availability of nitrogen, the source of nitrogen is only trapped insects and bugs.

They eat plants mainly for the reason of Nitrogen and protein in it.

Carnivorous plants digest the pray with enzymes and extract protein, nitrogen. There is also a probability that they also extract phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and iron in this way.

 

 

More Information about Carnivorous plants

 

 Carnivorous plants:

1.    Sarracenia (Pitcher Plant),

2.    Drosera (Sundew),

3.    Dionaea (Venus flytrap),

4.    Venus Flytrap (Dionaea),

5.    Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia),

6.    Sundew (Drosera

7.    Dionaea muscipula ‘Akai Ryu’

8.    Dionaea muscipula ‘King Henry’

9.    Sarracenia x excellens

10.   Sarracenia rubra ssp. Gulfensis

11.   Nepenthes

12.   Cephalotus

 

There are also some plants which can kill insects and birds and may obtain some nutrient but not strictly fit to the definition of carnivorous, these called quasi – carnivorous plants.

 

Quasi – carnivorous plants

 

These include –

 1. Silene (Catchfly),

2. Puya

 

 

Can we find these plants in botanical gardens?

 

Finding these plants are really difficult and rare although some good botanical garden grows these plants to increase visit from school students and general public.

 

Is there any plant in plant kingdom which hunt for humans?

Luckily there is no meat-eating plant on the hunt for humans.

 

From Where to buy

 

1.    Only buy these plants from an ethical carnivorous plant nursery.

2.    The nursery must have produced these plants ethically without damage to the last few remaining native habitats of these endangered species.

 

How to grow carnivorous plants

 

1.    These plants can be grown in bog garden conditions with damp feet with dry ankles.

2.    If you are growing them in containers, 100 percent peat moss is ok.

3.    Do not give any fertilizer to plant.

4.    Do not give water tap water to plant as it is containing heavy salts and create problems for these plants.

5.    Use well water.

6.    You can also use recycled rainwater.

7.    Carnivorous plants like low maintenance gardeners.

 

Conservation of Carnivorous Plants

These plants are important for general quality of environment and as these mainly grow in wetlands, chances of disappearing of these plants are very real. As per estimate United States of America lost around 90% carnivorous plants.

 

 

Although many of you who have read this article must be feeling strange about the fact that, out there some plants those eating animals.

 

But there is no worry to human beings as they can pose danger to only very small insects and animals and therefore no need to worry from Venus flytrap or any other carnivorous plant as much as human being is concerned.

8 thoughts on “Plants That Eat Meat”

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