The Unique Way in Which Different Species of Carnivorous Plants Survive

Carnivorous plants have begun to attract more and more flower lovers, due to their survival instinct: they can live in poor places from a nutritional point of view, feeding only on live insects.

They are divided into 6 families (Droseraceae, Nepenthaceae, Bromeliaceae, Lentibulariaceae, Sarraceniaceae, and Cephalotaceae), comprising over 450 species. They differ in the type of traps they use, namely the pitcher trap, the snap trap, the adhesive trap, the bladder trap, and the spill trap.

Carnivorous plants with pitcher-traps attract their prey by their sweet sap or by the coloration of their edges. One of the most representative plants is Sarracenia, which has leaves in the form of vertical jugs (trumpets), inside which they catch their prey.

It is not a very demanding plant, although it needs a lot of suns. The soil must have no nutrients, the acidity level must be medium, and its watering must be done with rainwater. Propagation is done by rhizomes, at 2–3 years, these being planted directly in the ground, in spring.

Excessive watering can lead to gray rot, and on hot days can be attacked by lice, due to lack of moisture. Other potted plants are Sarracenia alata, Sarracenia flava, Sarracenia purpurea. Nepenthes is another potted plant, native to the jungles of Southeast Asia.

Its leaves have a cap at the ends, which helps them climb the surrounding vegetation, and the jugs have a lid at the top, meant to keep rainwater and prey. It is perhaps the most spectacular, due to its size, colors, but also traps (some species have traps so large that birds or rats could fall victim).

Carnivorous plants with a cracking trap have as the best-known representation the plant Dionaea muscipula or Venus Flytrap. Its leaves are rosette-shaped, green, oval, consisting of two lobes, with rigid filaments along the edges, like a kind of comb.

When the prey settles between the two lobes, they suddenly close, blocking it and then digesting it. It generally feeds on a few flies during the summer, while the winter enters a rest period and does not require food.

Dionaea should be watered only with rainwater or distilled water, as it suffers from the presence of limestone, and the soil should be made up of sand, peat, and moss. It reproduces by uprooting the plant or by sowing, in March-April. To prevent the plant from drying out, it should be kept at a suitable temperature (13º C in summer, at least 7º C in winter) and in a permanent moist mixture.

Carnivorous plants with an adhesive trap have a sticky substance in their leaves, which attracts prey. It has a high carbohydrate content, and the insects stick to the leaves when they try to fly, being suffocated.

The best-known plant of this type is Drosera Rotundifolia or Dew of the sky, which is also found in our country, in the mountain peatlands, and is a species protected by law. It can be recognized by its white flowers, but also by its leaves, which have hairs on them meant to digest prey. It's called Sky Dew because the sticky substances accumulate in the form of dewdrops.

Pinguicula or Foaie grass or Graseta is a plant that resembles primrose (the green leaves are pink) and the flowers are colorful). The leaves are covered with a sticky substance on which the prey settles, and they then roll, digesting the insect.

It can also be grown by plant lovers, who need to provide shady places and permanently moist soil (like the others, it is watered with rainwater, but the soil should not be soaked). It multiplies by separation or by sowing in spring, and excessive moisture can lead to the appearance of gray rot or lice.

Carnivorous plants with a vesicular trap live in water and catch their prey with the help of vesicular traps.

Utricularia especially catch pond fleas, which it keeps in traps, the glands especially from the vesicles removing water. When the hairs on the plant are touched, the lid suddenly opens and the prey is sucked. The process takes about 15 minutes, after which the plant catches other victims. Other species included in this type are the Utricularia area, Utricularia amethystine, Utricularia hamiltonii.

Spilled carnivorous plants have tubular leaves, which have spiral channels on the edges, the walls of which secrete a sticky substance. The representative is Genlisea, which is a semi-aquatic plant and is usually found near Utricularieri.

Its traps are in the water and consist of hairs on the inside of the leaves, which allow the victims to enter easily, but make it impossible to get out. The prey remains attached to the walls, during which time it is digested.

Although their name sounds like a title worthy of a horror movie, carnivorous plants are increasingly sought after by plant lovers. They are more pretentious than the other flowers, but they certainly bring an extra spectacle.