Carnivorous Plants
Carnivorous Plants
W.P. Armstrong
Wayne's Word
Palomar College
Carnivorous plants may be subdivided into 2 major groups; those with passive traps and those with active traps. For some of these traps the actual method of insect decomposition involves digestive enzymes produced by the plant and bacterial decay within the trap. A classic passive trap is the "pitfall trap" of pitcher plants, including Darlingtonia and Sarracenia of the Sarraceniaceae, and Nepenthes of the Nepenthaceae, where an insect falls into a vase-like modified leaf. Downward-pointing hairs on the slippery walls prevent the insect from crawling out, and the hapless victim ultimately drowns in a pool of digestive enzymes at the bottom. Other well-known passive traps are the "flypaper" or adhesive traps of sundews (Drosera, Droseraceae) and butterworts (Pinguicula, Lentibulariaceae). In both of these unrelated genera, the leaves are covered with sticky, gland-tipped hairs (Drosera) or a sticky (viscid) layer of mucilage (Pinguicula) which entangle the hopeless, struggling victim.
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