Pitcher Plant's Pitch a Sweet One

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Pitcher Plant's Pitch a Sweet One
May 4, 2009
By Elizabeth Pennisi
Photo: Katherine Bennett

Work being reported today in Biology Letters about pitcher plants would please Charles Darwin. This curious naturalist was so intrigued by carnivorous plants that he wrote a 400-page book, Insectivorous plants, detailing his thoughts and observations on these unusual species. He was fascinated by the similarities in the insect traps of unrelated plants and demonstrated that these plants had the ability to digest and absorb the prey they caught. This week, researchers report on how one species, a pitcher plant found in Canada and the eastern United States (left), snags its dinner. At issue was whether a red color or a sweet treat is what makes this death trap so appealing.

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