10 Examples of Insectivorous Plants | Carnivorous plants | Nutrition in Plants

Insectivorous plants are photosynthetic plants living in nutrition poor environments that lack insufficient nitrogen and then evolved to supplement themselves by trapping and eating animal flesh like that of insects. Therefore, they are called carnivorous plants.

 Examples of Insectivorous Plants

1. Nepenthes (Pitcher plant): This plant has pitchers that trap insects. The pitchers are modified leaves that are shaped like cups or vases. The inside of the pitcher is slippery and contains a sweet liquid. When an insect lands in the pitcher, it slips and falls into the liquid. The insect drowns and is then digested by the plant.

2. Drosera (Sundew): This plant has sticky leaves that trap insects. The leaves are covered in glandular hairs that secrete a sticky substance, called mucilage. When an insect lands on the leaf, it becomes stuck in the mucilage. The plant then secretes enzymes that digest the insect.

3. Dionaea (Venus flytrap): This plant has leaves that snap shut when an insect triggers the hairs on the leaf. The leaves are hinged at the base and have two lobes. When an insect touches the hairs on the leaf, the lobes snap shut, trapping the insect inside. The plant then secretes enzymes that digest the insect.

4. Utricularia (Bladderwort): All Utricularia are carnivorous and capture small organisms by means of bladder-like traps. Terrestrial species tend to have tiny traps that feed on minute prey such as protozoa and rotifers swimming in water-saturated soil. The traps can range in size from 0.02 to 1.2 cm.

5. Pinguicula (Butterwort): This plant has leaves that secrete a sticky substance that traps insects.

 The leaves are also covered in hairs that help to trap insects. When an insect lands on the leaf, it becomes stuck in the sticky substance and is then digested by the plant.

6. Aldrovanda (Water flea trap): Aldrovanda vesiculosa, commonly known as the waterwheel plant, is the sole extant species in the flowering plant genus Aldrovanda of the family Droseraceae. The plant captures small aquatic invertebrates using traps similar to those of the Venus flytrap.

7. Sarracenia (Pitcher plant): This plant has pitchers that trap insects and digest them. The pitchers are modified leaves that are shaped like a vase or jug. The inside of the pitcher is slippery and lined with downward-pointing hairs. When an insect lands in the pitcher, it is unable to climb out and eventually falls into the liquid at the bottom of the pitcher. The liquid contains enzymes that digest the insect.

8. Darlingtonia (Cobra plant): This plant has hood-like leaves that trap insects. The leaves are shaped like cobras' hoods and have nectar glands at the top. When an insect lands on the nectar glands, it slips and falls into the pitcher-shaped trap at the bottom of the leaf. The insect drowns and is then digested by the plant.

9. Sun Pitcher Plant (Heliamphora spp): Species in the genus Heliamphora are carnivorous plants that consist of a modified leaf form that is fused into a tubular shape. They have evolved mechanisms to attract, trap, and kill insects; and control the amount of water in the pitcher.

10. Fly catcher plant (Cephalotus): Cephalotus follicularis the Albany pitcher plant, a small carnivorous pitcher plant. The pit-fall traps of the modified leaves have inspired the common names for this plant, which include 'Albany pitcher plant", "Western Australian pitcher plant", "Australian pitcher plant", or "fly-catcher plant." It is an evergreen herb that is endemic to peaty swamps in the southwestern corner of Western Australia.