Did you know that there are several hundred carnivorous plants in the world? No, they are not as scary as in the American movie "The Horror Shop". Such flowers feed on insects, tadpoles and even frogs and rats. Interestingly, some predatory plants have long established themselves as useful pets. Claim that home flower that eats insects helps fight pests such as mosquitoes, flies and spiders.

Why plants switched to animal food

The insect-eating plant did not evolve its diet from a good life. All species of these carnivores grow on soils lacking nitrogen and other nutrients... It is very difficult for them to survive on sandy soils or peat, so some species have adapted to life due to the ability to assimilate animal protein. It is animal food that is able to fully renew the reserves of nitrogen and minerals.

Plants use various traps to catch the victim. In addition, all plant predators are distinguished by their bright color and attractive scent, which insects associate with nectar-bearing flowers. But do not forget that animal food is only "vitamins" for plants, and the main food for them is photosynthesis.

Varieties of carnivorous plants

To date, scientists have described about 500 species of carnivorous plants that belong to 19 families. It can be concluded that the evolutionary development of these groups of organisms took place in parallel and independently.

The most famous plants that eat insects:

• sarracenia;
• genlisei;
• darlingtonia;
• pemphigus;
• zhiryanka;
• sundew;
• biblis;
• bubble aldrovand;
• Venus flytrap.

An interesting fact: flycatchers have the Latin name muscipula, which translated into Russian means not "flycatcher", but "mousetrap".

The prevalence of entomophagous plants

Predatory plants are not only exotic representatives of the biosphere. They are found everywhere - from the equator to the Arctic. Most often, they can be stumbled upon in wet places, especially in swamps. Most species are recorded in the southwestern part of Australia. Some species are eurybionts and grow in many biocenoses. The range of other species is more limited - for example, the Venus flytrap in nature is found exclusively in South and North Carolina.

What species grow on the territory of Russia

In Russia, there are 13 species of carnivorous plants from 4 genera. The genus Rosyanka is represented by two species: common sundew and English sundew. They grow mainly in sphagnum bogs. Aldrovand vesiculosus occurs both in the European part Russian Federation and on Far East and the Caucasus.

The genus Pemphigus in Russia is represented by four species, the most common of which is pemphigus vulgaris. These are aquatic plants that differ in their growth rate. They are found in shallow waters throughout Russia (with the exception of the Far North). Also in our area you can find representatives of the genus Zhiryanka, which grow on swamps, stream banks, and some - on trees and mosses.

Diet of carnivorous flowers

Most carnivorous plants (sundew, sarracenia, nepentes) feed on insects. The diet of aquatic representatives, such as aldrovands or pemphigus, is predominantly small crustaceans. There are also species that hunt for larger prey: fry of fish, newts, toads and reptiles. One of the largest predators of the nepentes raffleza and nepentes raja feeds not only on insects, but also on mammals such as mice and rats.

Types of trap organs

Predators catch their prey with trap organs, which, depending on the species, are of several types:

• jug leaves. This design has a lid, and is filled with water inside (nepentes, darlingtonia);
• trap leaves. The modified leaf consists of two valves with teeth at the edges. When the insect is inside, the flaps close (Venus flytrap);
• sticky leaves. On the leaf plates there are special hairs that secrete a sticky secret that attracts insects (sundew, fatty);
• suction traps. Water together with the victim is sucked into a special bubble (pemphigus) under pressure;
• traps "crab claws". Victims easily fall into them, but cannot get out because of the hairs growing forward in a spiral (genlisei).

At home, you can keep the following types of carnivorous plants:

• Venus flytrap;
• all types of sundew;
• tropical zhiryanka;
• sarracenia;
• dwarf nepentes.

In Russia, the most popular indoor predator is the Venus flytrap. The flower pot should be kept on a well-lit windowsill or on a table with artificial lighting. Indoor air temperature should be between 18-25 ° C in summer and 10-13 ° C in winter. Since the flycatcher is a moisture-loving plant, the soil in the pot must be constantly moistened. Water the plant with clean rain or melt water.

Reproduction

Flycatchers reproduce by cuttings, bush division and cross-pollination. The flowering period of Dionea begins at the end of spring. In natural biocenoses, the plant is pollinated by insects. At home, flowers must be manually pollinated by transferring pollen from the stamens to the stigma of the pistil with a soft brush.

Top dressing

If a plant is called carnivorous, this does not mean at all that it needs to be fed with meat. The flycatcher must hunt for itself small insects to fully digest food and get the necessary substances. Also, do not forget that the Dionaeus receives its main food from the soil.

Resting care

In the cold season, the Venus flytrap stops growing and goes into hibernation. At some point, it may even seem to you that the plant is dying. But this is not so, Dionea need this state in order to gain strength for the next growing season. At this time, your task will be to remove wilted leaves and wait for new ones to grow.

A plant that eats flies: Video

Carnivorous plants are quite widespread throughout the world. In nature, there are 450 species of such plants, which are combined into six families. Insects form the basis of their diet, therefore carnivorous plants often also called insectivores.

Predatory plants are a miracle of nature. They are surprisingly adapted to life in areas characterized by a lack of nutrients in the soil. These plants have become predators! The need to survive requires them to be able to catch live prey.

Carnivorous plants obtain food in five ways. Some of them use trapping leaves, which have the shape of a jug, others use sticky traps, the next use traps of the crustacean type, fourth use sucking traps, and the fifth use slamming leaves.

Carnivorous plants have developed many ways to lure insects. For example, in some carnivorous plants, the edges of trapping leaves are bright red, while in others, the inner walls of the leaves secrete a sugary substance, which attracts insects.

Venus flytrap


The most famous of the carnivorous plants is Dionaea muscipula, but its Russian name is Venus flytrap. According to one version, this plant predator was named after a Roman goddess because its trap leaves are shaped like a female genital organ.

The trap itself is located on a short stem and outwardly resembles an open shell of mollusks. Along the edges of the valves, one row of denticles is located, comparable to long eyelashes... However, all this is only an entourage, the real weapons are glands and trigger hairs. The glands are located along inside eyelash teeth and secrete a sweet-smelling nectar, which is so difficult for insects to pass by. When the victim crawls inside the trap, triggers come into play - they react to touch. The trap does not close immediately, only a few successive touches to the triggers (and there are three of them on each flap) are able to close the trap. Dionea, having received an insect in her trap, begins the digestion process. The same glands that produced nectar begin to abundantly secrete digestive juice, in which the insect drowns. Usually, it takes several days to digest, after which the valves open again, revealing to the world only the chitinous shell of the victim.

Sundew


The round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) is practically the only carnivorous plant growing in the territory of the former Soviet Union. It is found mainly in the northern and central regions of our country. The photo shows that it owes its name to small droplets of sticky liquid that are on the hairs covering the leaves of this plant. These droplets shine in the sun and look very much like dew. It is in them that the digestive enzyme is contained, which allows the sundew to digest insects, and thus receive the necessary nutrition even on scarce peat soils.

It is very interesting to watch how the sundew catches insects. Unlike the Venus flytrap, the sundew does not close its trap. And the point is again in the droplets covering the leaves. They are sticky enough to keep an insect inadvertently seduced by the sweet scent of this plant.

After the insect has adhered, the leaf begins to slowly curl up, surrounding its prey with more and more transparent sticky liquid. After the leaf is completely curtailed, the digestion process begins, which usually takes several days. After the completion of this process, the leaf unfolds and again becomes covered with droplets.

Nepentes


The spectacular and original pitcher belongs to the genus Nepenthes, which includes several dozen plant species of the Nepenthaceae family. The unusual shape of this flower immediately attracts attention. Even once you see a photo of a nepentes, you can fall in love with it completely and irrevocably. But its main feature is that nepentes is a predator flower. Its attractive, brightly colored jugs contain a liquid that allows the flower to digest and use as insect food.

Sarracenia


Sarracenia, or North American carnivorous plant, is a genus of carnivorous plants that are found in areas of the east coast North America, in Texas, in the Great Lakes, in southeastern Canada, but most of it is found only in the southeastern states.

This plant uses trapping water lily-shaped leaves as a trap. The leaves of the plant have turned into a funnel with a hood-like formation that grows over the hole, preventing rainwater from entering, which can dilute the digestive juices. Insects are attracted by the color, smell and secretions, similar to nectar on the edge of a water lily. The slippery surface and the narcotic lining the nectar encourage insects to fall inward, where they die and are digested by protease and other enzymes.

Darlingtonia

Californian Darlingtonia is the only member of the Darlingtonia genus that grows in northern California and Oregon. It grows in swamps and springs with cold running water and is considered a rare plant.

Darlingtonia leaves are bulbous and form a cavity with a hole under the swollen, like balloon, a structure and two sharp leaves that hang down like fangs.

Unlike many carnivorous plants, it does not use trapping leaves to trap, but uses a crab claw type trap. Once the insect is inside, they are confused by the specks of light that pass through the plant. They land in thousands of thick, fine hairs that grow inward. Insects can follow the hairs deeper into the digestive organs, but cannot go back.

Genlisei


Genlisea consists of 21 species, usually grows in humid terrestrial and semi-aquatic environments and is common in Africa and Central and South America.

Genliseya is a small herb with yellow flowers that use a crab claw type trap. It is easy to fall into such traps, but it is impossible to get out of them because of the small hairs that grow towards the entrance or, as in this case, forward in a spiral.

These plants have two different types of leaves: photosynthetic leaves above the ground and special underground leaves that lure, trap, and digest small organisms such as protozoa. The underground leaves also serve as roots, such as water absorption and attachment, since the plant itself does not have them. These underground leaves form hollow tubes that are spiral-shaped. Small microbes enter these tubes through the flow of water, but cannot escape from them. When they get to the exit, they will already be digested.

Pemphigus


Pemphigus (Utricularia) is a genus of carnivorous plants, consisting of 220 species. They are found in fresh water or wet soil as terrestrial or aquatic species on all continents except Antarctica.

They are the only carnivorous plants that use the bubble trap. Most species have very small traps in which they can catch very small prey, such as protozoa. Traps range in size from 0.2 mm to 1.2 cm, and larger traps will trap larger prey such as water fleas or tadpoles.

The bubbles are under negative pressure relative to their surroundings. The opening of the trap opens, sucks in the insect and surrounding water, closes the valve, and all this happens in thousandths of a second.

Zhiryanka


Toad (Pinguicula) - belongs to a group of carnivorous plants that use sticky, glandular leaves in order to lure and digest insects. Nutrients from insects supplement mineral-poor soil. There are approximately 80 species of these plants in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

The leaves are juicy and usually bright green or pink color... There are two special types of cells on the upper side of the leaves. One is known as the pedicle gland and is made up of secretory cells at the apex of a single stem cell. These cells produce a slimy secretion that forms visible droplets on the surface of the leaves and acts like a velcro. Other cells are called sessile glands, and they sit on the surface of the leaf, producing enzymes like amylase, protease, and esterase that aid in the digestive process. While many types of birchworms are carnivorous all year round, many types form a dense winter rosette that is not carnivorous. When summer comes, it blooms and has new carnivorous leaves.

Biblis


Byblis, or the rainbow plant, is small view carnivorous plants native to Australia. The rainbow plant gets its name from the attractive slime that coats the leaves in the sun. Despite the fact that these plants are similar to sundews, they are in no way related to the latter and differ in zygomorphic flowers with five curved stamens.

Its leaves have a round cross section, and most often they are elongated and conical at the end. The surface of the leaves is completely covered with glandular hairs that secrete a sticky mucous substance that serves as a trap for small insects that perch on the leaves or tentacles of the plant.

Aldrovanda bladder


Aldrovanda vesiculosa is a magnificent rootless, carnivorous aquatic plant... It usually feeds on small aquatic vertebrates using a trap.

The plant consists mainly of free-floating stems that reach 6-11 cm in length. Trap leaves, 2-3 mm in size, grow in 5-9 curls in the center of the stem. The traps attach to the petioles, which contain air that allows the plant to swim. It is a fast growing plant and can grow up to 4-9 mm per day and in some cases produce a new curl every day. While the plant grows at one end, the other end gradually dies.

The trap of the plant consists of two lobes that slam shut like a trap. The holes of the trap are directed outward and are covered with fine hairs that allow the trap to close around any victim that gets close enough. The trap closes in tens of milliseconds, which is one of the fastest movement in the animal kingdom.

Cephalotus


Cephalotus is the only and unique predator from distant Australia. Despite their tiny size (adult plants usually grow to only 7-10 cm), cephalotuses are incredibly attractive and interesting. The plant perfectly copes with the role of a hunter, in this it is helped by some tricks. Slippery edges of jugs, sharp thorns-growths that prevent insects from getting out of the trap, and special cells devoid of pigment on the lid of the jug, which let light through and create a deceptive impression of "open sky".

And of course, the deadly digestive fluid at the bottom of the trap. Such is the insidious and cunning little cephalotus. However, from the outside, he seems defenseless and requires care and attention. And this is also his little trick.

Heliamphora


Heliamphora is a predatory beauty from South America. Its name comes from the places in which it lives, "a jug of swamps" - this is how "Heliamphora" is translated. Indeed, most of all, the plant looks like bright jugs that have grown in inconspicuous gray swamps.

The method of hunting heliamphors is simple and straightforward. The predator attracts insects with nectar, which is produced in the so-called nectar spoon located on the hood of the jug, and when the insect sits on the jug, it literally rolls down the smooth slippery walls inward, where digestion takes place. As they say, all ingenious is simple.

This is how you think about it before planting a flower at home.

We are accustomed to the fact that there can only be predators, and plants feed on sunlight, oxygen and what their roots can get. It turns out that this is not at all the case. the predator, which has clever insect traps, is found in all climates, temperate and tropical. Such plants are sometimes also called insectivorous or carnivorous.

The well-known flycatcher

How the first appeared remains a mystery. Scientists suggest that such an evolutionary adaptation that allows feeding on insects appeared due to a lack of nitrogen in the soil, which is so necessary for any plant.

Rosyanka, lives even in our Tundra

Each predator plant has its own type of insect trap, and are divided into three types: popper plants, sticky plants and jug plants. The first type of plants has collapsing leaves with teeth at the edges, the second type gives off a sticky liquid with an attractive odor; a third species of predator plant has a pitcher trap containing liquid.

Zhiryanka. Lures insects with sticky secretions on the leaves.

Why did predator plants appear?

Botanists have established that all insectivorous plants live on soils that are poor in minerals (peat, sand, swamps and swamps). There are many insects in these places, but there is little nitrogen in the soil. Therefore, predator plants receive the necessary nitrogen at the expense of insects, which allows them to grow normally.

Nepesthes or "hunting cup"

Plants of predators are characterized by a very bright color, which in all insects is associated with flowers and the presence of nectar. However, there is no nectar in such flowers, but there are a variety of devices that make it possible to catch insects, and then digest (decompose) them with special glands, then sucking up the resulting nitrogen-containing nutrients.

The predator plant has turned its leaves into a kind of trap for insects. In order for the victim to be securely gripped, the leaves have sticky hairs that react to touch and gradually squeeze inward, like a fist. The second common option is a jug with a lid and a narrow stroke. An attractive smell makes the insect crawl inside, but it can no longer get back.

Some observations show that even pineapple behaves like a predator plant, since water attractive to insects and their larvae accumulates at its base, and it is quite capable of digesting them, assimilating the obtained nutrients.

“It's poisonous, if you will; but you cannot deny that it is perfect, and perfection is what we, artists, are striving for ... ”I don’t know if the author of the above lines, Oscar Wilde, has heard about predatory plants, but it is his aphorism that comes to mind when it comes to this paradoxical creation of nature.

I must say right away that such plant organisms have never been found in my flower collection. True, there were two stocks (changeable and large-flowered), which I mistakenly, apparently, ranked among insectivores for their unpleasant aroma. But alive and happy flies that have met on their life path blooming succulent, dispelled my hopes.

PLANT-PARADOX

The so-called carnivorous plants are found on all continents of our planet. Botanists-taxonomists include in this group perennial herbaceous plants, originating from the most diverse families and clans, but being "colleagues" to each other in the way of satisfying the "feeling of hunger".

As you know, autotrophic metabolism prevails in plants. This means that they convert chemical compounds found in soil and air into organic matter that serves as a source of nutrition for many other living organisms.

But predatory plants replenish the chemical compounds necessary for their development that are not received from the soil due to additional nutrition: insects and occasionally small animals. As a rule, the soils in which these perennials grow are poor in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sodium, etc.

There are not so many insectivores in nature, approximately 0.1% (about 500 species from 6 families) of the total all plants. But, fortunately, there are few unfavorable places forcing plants to switch to such an unconventional diet. Most often, such herbs grow in the tropics, but they can also be found in temperate climates.

On the territory of the former Soviet Union there are 18 species from 4 genera. Inhabitants of the northwestern part of Russia in swampy areas can meet two types of sundew - round-leaved and English.

By the way, in Russia the sundew has enjoyed good fame since ancient times, it was affectionately called the dew of God or the sun, royal eyes, crabgrass and favorite grass. Long before the advent of antibiotics, this herb was widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of respiratory diseases, and also used for headaches, migraines and as a cosmetic remedy for warts.

HOW THE INSECTIVE PLANTS EAT

As a rule, "predators" have beautiful bright colors, distinguish strong smell that attracts insects. However, some amber are so pleasant that not only insects like it. For example, the Venus flytrap exudes a sweet scent. The Indians revered this flower as a symbol of the feminine principle, love and harmony.

Venus flytrap

It is no coincidence that the first part of the name was given to an inhabitant of the North American continent in honor of Venus, the goddess of love and fertility. In some sources, you can even find information that a perennial herb releases supposedly love pheromones, so the extract of this plant is sometimes used in the perfume industry.

But darlingtonia smells unpleasant - rot. This smell is the result of her digestive activity.

In the course of evolution, the leaves of insectivorous plants underwent a metamorphosis and turned into trapping organs: sticky traps; water lilies (urns) filled with digesting fluid; as well as fast-acting traps.

So, the sundew leaf is densely covered with a sticky substance, it's not for nothing that Americans call the plant grass precious stones... The insect seduced by the brilliance of "rubies" sits on the trap leaf and sticks tightly: the more the midge makes an effort to release, the more it gets stuck in the sticky syrup.

Dewdrop is able to distinguish edible from inedible, so the leaf does not react to "false starts", for example, to raindrops, fallen leaves from other plants. As soon as an insect has crouched on the trap, the villi located on the leaf grab the “victim” from all sides, while the leaf itself folds into a small cocoon. In the collapsed state, glands begin to stand out, which are close in composition to the digestive juice of animals. It is they who dissolve the insect's hard integument - its chitin, and nutrients are absorbed and transported through the vessels of the plant. A few days later, the trap is revealed, it is ready to "hunt".

A similar principle is with a zhiryanka, only the sheet does not curl up. The presence of nitrogen in the insect's body stimulates the secretion of a digesting fluid that looks like fat, hence the name.

Darlingtonia, nepentas and sarracenia hunt somewhat differently, their leaves have transformed into jugs filled with digestive juice. Insects caught on the inner wall of the leaf slide to the bottom of the trap, where they die.

Nepentas

Sarracenia

But the most active hunt is with our "goddess" - the Venus flytrap. The leaf, more like a shell, is covered with sensitive hairs. It is enough to touch one of them, the doors instantly slam shut. In this fight, the plant, as a rule, wins, the insect dies, not having time to realize what happened. Having “slammed”, the plant begins to secrete digestive glands for digesting prey, after having dined, the “chest” opens again.

The digestive cycle in insectivorous plants lasts differently - from 5 to 40 hours.

I must admit that it is quite difficult to grow them at home. Here are a few of the requirements that I have deducted:

1. Predatory plants are most often grown in florariums.
2. Demanding for light. They do not tolerate direct sunlight.
3. Watered with soft water. Many growers even recommend using distilled water. Most insectivores do not tolerate drying out of the soil, but excessive moisture is also destructive for them.
4. The substrate in which the flower grows is by no means fertilized.
5. They are almost never transplanted. Occasionally, an overgrown plant is transferred into a larger container.
6. Substrate: vermiculite, perlite, sphagnum moss. Fertile soils do not use.
   
7. Most carnivorous plants have a dormant period in winter. During sleep, "predators" are not fed. Spring - awakening - the formation of new traps.
8. Bloom. Experts recommend cutting off the flower ovaries, as this process depletes the plant. This is sometimes very difficult to do because many have very beautiful flowers.
9. Feeding. This is the hardest part. I realized one thing that the ideal food is what the plant eats in its natural habitat. You don't need to feed the sundew and zhiryanka, they find food for themselves (unless, of course, they grow up in a closed florarium). Do not feed on insects that are high in calcium (mealworms). And here fruit flies- fit.
10. In no case are plants fertilized, they root system not adapted to the assimilation of macro- and microelements from the soil. Moreover, top dressing burns almost atrophied roots.
11. Insectivores are rarely grown from seeds - poor similarity. An adult plant is more often acquired.

Thank you for the photos provided to Olga Koroleva and Maria Zubova.

Incredible facts

Among all the strange plants in the world, there are even some that consume flesh.

Well, maybe not quite flesh, but insects, but, nevertheless, they are considered carnivorous... All carnivorous plants are found in areas where the soil is poor in nutrients.

These amazing plants are carnivores, as they catch insects and arthropods, secrete digestive juices, dissolve the prey, and during this process they receive some or most of the nutrients.

Here are the most famous carnivorous plants that use different types traps to lure your victim.

1. Sarracenia

Sarracenia, or North American carnivorous plant, is a genus of carnivorous plants that are found in areas of the east coast of North America, Texas, the Great Lakes, southeastern Canada, but most are found only in the southeastern states.

This plant uses water lily-shaped trapping leaves as a trap... The leaves of the plant have turned into a funnel with a hood-like formation that grows over the hole, preventing rainwater from entering, which can dilute the digestive juices. Insects are attracted by the color, smell and secretions, similar to nectar on the edge of a water lily. The slippery surface and the narcotic lining the nectar encourage insects to fall inward, where they die and are digested by protease and other enzymes.

2. Nepenthes

Nepentes, a tropical carnivorous plant, is another type of trap carnivorous plant that uses trapping water lily-shaped leaves. There are about 130 species of these plants, which are widespread in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Madagascar, Seychelles, Australia, India, Borneo and Sumatra. This plant also received the nickname " monkey cup"as researchers often observed monkeys drinking rainwater from them.

Most of the Nepentes species are tall vines, about 10-15 meters, with a shallow root system. Leaves are often visible from the stem with a tendril that protrudes from the tip of the leaf and is often used for climbing. At the end of the tendril, the water lily forms a small vessel, which then expands to form a bowl.

The trap contains liquid secreted by the plant, which can have a watery or sticky texture, and in which insects, which the plant eats, drown. Bottom part The bowl contains glands that absorb and distribute nutrients. Most of the plants are small and they only catch insects, but large species, such as Nepenthes Rafflesiana and Nepenthes Rajah, can catch small mammals such as rats.

3. Predatory plant genlisea (Genlisea)

Genlisea consists of 21 species, usually grows in humid terrestrial and semi-aquatic environments and is common in Africa and Central and South America.

Genlisea is a small herb with yellow flowers that use a crab pincer trap... It is easy to fall into such traps, but it is impossible to get out of them because of the small hairs that grow towards the entrance or, as in this case, forward in a spiral.

These plants have two different types of leaves: photosynthetic leaves above the ground and special underground leaves that lure, trap and digest small organisms such as protozoa. The underground leaves also serve as roots, such as water absorption and attachment, since the plant itself does not have them. These underground leaves form hollow tubes that are spiral-shaped. Small microbes enter these tubes through the flow of water, but cannot escape from them. When they get to the exit, they will already be digested.

4. Californian Darlingtonia (Darlingtonia Californica)

Californian Darlingtonia is the only member of the Darlingtonia genus that grows in northern California and Oregon. It grows in swamps and springs with cold running water and considered a rare plant.

Darlingtonia leaves are bulbous and form a cavity with an opening under the balloon-like structure and two sharp leaves that hang down like fangs.

Unlike many carnivorous plants, it does not use trapping leaves to trap, but uses a crab claw type trap. Once the insect is inside, they are confused by the specks of light that pass through the plant. They land in thousands of thick, fine hairs that grow inward. Insects can follow the hairs deeper into the digestive organs, but cannot go back.

5. Pemphigus (Utricularia)

Pemphigus is a genus of carnivorous plants, consisting of 220 species. They are found in fresh water or wet soil as terrestrial or aquatic species on all continents except Antarctica.

These are the only carnivorous plants that use bubble trap... Most species have very small traps in which they can catch very small prey, such as protozoa. Traps range in size from 0.2 mm to 1.2 cm, and larger traps will trap larger prey such as water fleas or tadpoles.

The bubbles are under negative pressure relative to their surroundings. The opening of the trap opens, sucks in the insect and surrounding water, closes the valve, and all this happens in thousandths of a second.

6. Chiryanka (Pinguicula)

Grease is a carnivorous plant that uses sticky, glandular leaves to lure and digest insects. Nutrients from insects supplement mineral-poor soil. There are approximately 80 species of these plants in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

The leaves are juicy and usually bright green or pink in color. There are two special types of cells on the upper side of the leaves. One is known as the pedicle gland and is made up of secretory cells at the apex of a single stem cell. These cells produce a slimy secretion that forms visible droplets on the leaf surface and acts like Velcro... Other cells are called sessile glands, and they sit on the surface of the leaf, producing enzymes like amylase, protease, and esterase that aid in the digestive process. While many types of birchworms are carnivorous all year round, many types form a dense winter rosette that is not carnivorous. When summer comes, it blooms and has new carnivorous leaves.

7. Drosera

Dewdrop is one of largest genera carnivorous plants, having, by at least, 194 species. They are found on all continents with the exception of Antarctica. Dewdrop can form root or vertical rosettes from 1cm to 1m in height and can live up to 50 years.

Sundews are characterized by moving glandular tentacles topped with sweet sticky secretions. When an insect lands on sticky tentacles, the plant begins to move the rest of the tentacles in the direction of the victim in order to further drive it into a trap. Once the insect is trapped, small sessile glands absorb it and nutrients are used for plant growth.

8. Byblis

Biblis or rainbow plant is a small species of carnivorous plant native to Australia. The rainbow plant gets its name from the attractive slime that coats the leaves in the sun. Despite the fact that these plants are similar to sundews, they are in no way related to the latter and differ in zygomorphic flowers with five curved stamens.

Its leaves have a round cross section, and most often they are elongated and conical at the end. The surface of the leaves is completely covered with glandular hairs that secrete a sticky mucous substance that serves as a trap for small insects that perch on the leaves or tentacles of the plant.

9. Aldrovanda vesiculosa

Aldrovanda bubbly is a magnificent rootless, carnivorous aquatic plant. It is usually feeds on small aquatic vertebrates using a trap.

The plant consists mainly of free-floating stems that reach 6-11 cm in length. Trap leaves, 2-3 mm in size, grow in 5-9 curls in the center of the stem. The traps attach to the petioles, which contain air that allows the plant to swim. It is a fast growing plant and can grow up to 4-9 mm per day and in some cases produce a new curl every day. While the plant grows at one end, the other end gradually dies.

The trap of the plant consists of two lobes that slam shut like a trap. The holes of the trap are directed outward and are covered with fine hairs that allow the trap to close around any victim that gets close enough. The trap closes in tens of milliseconds, which is one example. the fastest movement in the animal kingdom.

10. Venus flytrap (Dionaea Muscipula)

Venus flytrap is perhaps the most famous carnivorous plant that feeds mainly on insects and arachnids... it small plant with 4-7 leaves that grow from a short underground stem.

Its leaf plate is divided into two areas: flat, long, heart-shaped petioles capable of photosynthesis and a pair of terminal lobes hanging from the main vein of the leaf, which form a trap. The inner surface of these lobes contains red pigment, and the edges secrete mucus.

The leaf lobes move abruptly, snapping shut when its sensory hairs are stimulated. The plant is so developed that it can distinguish a living stimulus from a nonliving one... Its leaves collapse in 0.1 second. They are bordered by cilia, rigid, like thorns, which hold the prey. As soon as the victim is caught, inner surface leaves are gradually stimulated, and the edges of the lobes grow and merge, closing the trap and creating a closed stomach, where the prey is digested.