An Introduction to Carnivorous plants

Christophe Maerten – March 2016

Carnivourous what ??Carnivourous plants are plants who attract, trap, kill and diggest animals, insects and

protozoae.

Carnivorous plants have adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs, tree trunks and rock outcroppings.

True carnivory is thought to have evolved independently nine times in five different orders of flowering plants,and is represented by more than a dozen genera.

This classification includes at least 583 species that attract, trap and kill prey, absorbing the resulting available nutrients. Additionally, over 300 protocarnivorous

species in several genera show some but not all of these characteristics.

Carnivorous plants have two trapping mechanism

The way of catching they prey is active or passive with each of them different trapping methods. Five basic trapping mechanisms are found in carnivorous

plants.

• Pitfall traps (pitcherplants) trap prey in a rolled leaf that contains a pool of digestive enzymes or bacteria

• Flypaper traps use a sticky mucilage.• Snap traps utilize rapid leaf movements.

• Bladder traps suck in prey with a bladder that generates an internal vacuum.• Lobster pods, also known as eel traps, force prey to move towards a digestive organ

with inward-pointing hairs.

Characterized by an internal chamber, pitfall traps are thought to have evolved independently at least six times. This particular adaptation is found within the families Sarraceniaceae. (Darlingtonia, Heliamphora,

Sarracenia), Nepentheceae (Nepenthes), Cephalotaceae ( Cephalotus) , Within the family Bromeliaceae, pitcher morphology and carnivory

evolved two (Brocchinia and Catopsis). • A passive trap, pitfall traps attract prey with nectar secreted by

the peristome and bright flower-like patterning within the pitcher. The linings of most pitcher plants are covered in a loose coating

of waxy flakes which are slippery for insects, causing them to fall into the pitcher. Once within pitcher structure, digestive enzymes break

down the prey into an absorbable form for the plant. Water can become trapped within the pitcher, making a habitat for other flora and fauna.

HeliamphoraThe simplest pitcher plants are probably those of Heliamphora, the marsh

pitcherplant. In this genus, the traps are clearly derived from a simple rolled leaf whose margins have sealed together. These plants live in the North West South America (Tepuis) areas of high rainfall such. They consequently have a problem ensuring their pitchers do not overflow. To counteract this problem, a small gap

in the zipped-up leaf margins allows excess water to flow out of the pitcher.Heliamphora is a member of the Sarraceniacea. Heliamphora is limited to South America, but the family contains two other genera, Sarracenia and Darlingtonia.

The genus Heliamphora contains 23 species

SarraceniaIn the genus Sarracenia, the problem of pitcher overflow is solved by an operculum (lid) , which is essentially a flared leaflet that covers the

opening of the rolled-leaf tube and protects it from rain. Possibly because of this improved waterproofing,Sarracenia species secrete

enzymes such as proteases and phosphatases into the digestive fluid at the bottom of the pitcher. The enzymes digest the proteins in the prey,

which the plant absorbs.Typically anywhere from 8 to 11 species of Sarracenia are generally

recognized

Darlingtonia Darlingtonia californica the cobra plant has a particular operculum that

is balloon-like and almost seals the opening to the tube. This balloon-like chamber is pitted with areole, chlorophyll-free patches through

which light can penetrate. Insects, mostly ants, enter the chamber via the opening underneath the balloon. Once inside, they tire themselves trying to escape from these false exits, until they eventually fall into the

tube. Prey access is increased by the "fish tails", outgrowths of the operculum that give the plant its name.

Only one specie exists

NepenthesThe second major group of pitcher plants are the tropical pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes. In the hundred or so species of this genus, the pitcher is born at the end of a tendril, which grows as an extension to the midrib of the leaf. Most species catch insects, although the larger ones, such as Nepenthes rajah, also occasionally take small mammals

and reptiles. The prey is attract by the nectar outside if the pitcher and at the These likely serve to lure insects into a precarious position over the pitcher mouth, where they may lose their footing and fall into the

fluid within. The genus comprises roughly 150 species, and numerous natural and

many cultivated hybrids

Fotoos nepentes christophe

CephalotusThe Albany pitcher plant Cephalotus follicularis is a small pitcher plant

from Western Australia, with moccasin like pitchers. The rim of its pitcher's opening (the peristome) is particularly pronounced (both

secrete nectar) and provides a thorny overhang to the opening, preventing trapped insects from climbing out.

Only one specie occurs

BromeliaceaeThe final carnivores with a pitfall-like trap of the Bromeliaceae are

Brocchinia reducta, tatei and Catopsisn berteroniana. Like most relatives of the Bromeliaceae, the tightly packed, waxy leaf bases of this

species form an urn. In most bromeliads, water collects readily in this urn and may provide habitats for frogs, inscets and, more useful for the

plant, nitrogen-fixing bacteria. In Brocchinia, the urn is a specialised insect trap, with a loose, waxy lining and a population of digestive

bacteria

Flypaper traps

The flypaper trap utilizes sticky mucilage, or glue. The leaf of flypaper traps is studded with mucilage- secreting glands, which may be short

like those of the butterworts, or long and mobile like those of many sundews. The prey is attract by the odour or vivid colours of the plant leaves. Also the mucilage, what looks similar to droplets of water

attracts insects

PinguiculaIn the genus Pinguicula, the mucilage glands are quite short (sessile),

and, does not appear carnivorous. However, this belies the fact that the leaf is an extremely effective trap of small flying insects and its surface responds to prey by relatively rapid growth. This growth may involve

rolling of the leaf blade (to prevent rain from splashing the prey off the leaf surface) or dishing of the surface under the prey to form a shallow

digestive pit.Of the roughly 80 currently known species, 12 are native to Europe, 9 to Norh America, and some in northern Asia. The largest number of

species is in South and Central.

DroseraThe sundew genus (Drosera) consists of over 100 species of active

flypapers whose mucilage glands are borne at the end of long tentacles, which frequently grow fast enough in response to prey

to aid the trapping process. The tentacles of D. burmanii can bend 180° in a minute or so. Sundews are extremely cosmopolitan and are found

on all the continents except the Antarctic mainland. They are most diverse in Australia, the home to the large subgroup of pygmy sundews such as D. pygmaea and to a number of tuberous sundews such as D.

peltata, which form tubers during the dry summer months

DrosophyllumClosely related to Drosera is the Portugese dewy pine, which differs from the sundews in being passive. Its leaves are incapable of rapid

movement or growth. Drosophyllum is unusual in that it grows under near-desert conditions; almost all other carnivores are either bog plants

or grow in moist tropical areas.

Only one specie occurs

ByblisByblis, sometimes termed the rainbow plants for the attractive appearance of their mucilage covered leaves in bright sunshine. Native to Western Australia, it is the only genus in the family Byblidaceae. Byblis species look very similar to Drosera and Drosophyllum. The surface of the leaves is densely studded with glandular hairs which secrete a mucilagous substance from their tip.

These serve to attract small insects, which upon touching the sticky secretions are ensnared. Unless they are strong enough to escape, the insect prey either

die of exhaustion or suffocation as the mucilage envelops. Unlike the sundews, Byblis can move neither their tentacles nor the leaves themselves to

aid trapping or digestion. Also the trap system of Byblis is passif.The 8 species only occurs in Australia

Snap trapsThe only two active snap traps—the venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) and the waterweelplant ( Aldrovanda vesiculosa). Their trapping mechanism has also been described as a "mouse trap", "bear trap" based on their shape and rapid movement. However, the term snap trap is preferred as other designations are misleading, particularly with respect to the intended prey. Aldrovanda is aquatic and specialised in catching small invertebrates; Dionaea is terrestrial and catches a variety of arthropods, including spiders.

DionaeaThe Dionaea muscipula, is native to subtropical wetlands on the East coast of the United States in North and South Carolina. It catches its

prey— Mainly insects and small gnats—with a trapping structure formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves, which is

triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces. When an insect or spider crawling along the leaves contacts a hair, the trap closes if a different

hair is contacted within twenty seconds of the first strike. The requirement of redundant triggering in this mechanism serves as a

safeguard against wasting energy by trapping objects with no nutritional value.

AldrovandaAldrovanda vesiculosa, commonly known as the waterwheel plant, is

the sole species in the plant genus Aldrovanda of the family Droseraceae. The plant captures small

aquatic invertebrates using traps similar to those of the Dionaea. The traps are arranged in whorls around a central, free-floating stem, giving rise to the common name. This is one of the few plant species capable

of rapid movement.

Bladder traps

Bladder traps are exclusive to the genus Utricularia, The bladder has a small opening, sealed by a hinged door. In aquatic species, the door has a pair of long trigger hairs. Aquatic invertebrates such as Daphnia touch these hairs and deform the door by, releasing the vacuum. The invertebrate is sucked into the bladder, where it is digested. Many species of Utricularia are terrestrial, growing in waterlogged soil, and their trapping mechanism is triggered in a slightly different manner. Bladderworts lack roots, but terrestrial species have anchoring stems that resemble roots. Temperate aquatic bladderworts are mostly free floating and die back to a resting tutorion during the winter month.

Lobster-pot traps

A lobster-pot trap is a chamber that is easy to enter, and whose exit is either difficult to find or obstructed by inward-pointing bristles. Lobster pots are the trapping mechanism in Genlisea, the corkscrewlant plants. These plants appear to specialise in aquatic protozoa . A Y-shaped modified leaf allows prey to enter but not exit. Inward-pointing hairs force the prey to move in a particular direction. Prey entering the spiral entrance that coils around the upper two arms of the Y are forced to move inexorably towards a stomach in the lower arm of the Y, where they are digested. Prey movement is also thought to be encouraged by water movement through the trap, produced in a similar way to the vacuum in bladder traps, and probably evolutionarily related to it.

• In Colombia 28 sp Lentibulariaceae • Pinguicula, Utricularia y Genlisea • Utricularia 7 sp + Utricularia alpina

New for the department and since 1940 don’t colected in the country. • Droseraceae 5 sp • In Caquetá • Pinguicula 2 sp • Genlisea 3 sp • Drosera 2 sp Caquetá

Carnivorous plants in Colombia