Carnivorous Plants Essay

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Carnivorous plant From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search "Insectivorous Plants" redirects here. For the book by Charles Darwin, see Insectivorous Plants (book). Nepenthes mirabilis in flower, growing on a road cut in Palau Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients (but not energy) from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs and rock outcroppings. Charles Darwin wrote Insectivorous Plants, the first well-known treatise on carnivorous plants, in 1875.[1] True carnivory is thought to have evolved independently six times in five different orders of flowering plants,[2][3] and these are now represented by more than a dozen genera. These include about 630 species that attract and trap prey, produce digestive enzymes, and absorb the resulting available nutrients.[4] Additionally, over 300 protocarnivorous plant species in several genera show some but not all these characteristics. Contents [hide] * 1 Trapping mechanisms * 1.1 Pitfall traps * 1.2 Flypaper traps * 1.3 Snap traps * 1.4 Bladder traps * 1.5 Lobster-pot traps * 1.6 Borderline carnivores * 2 Evolution * 3 Ecology and modelling of carnivory * 4 Classification * 4.1 Dicots * 4.2 Monocots * 5 Cultivation * 6 Medicinal uses * 7 Cultural depictions * 8 See also * 9 References * 10 Further reading | [edit] Trapping mechanisms The primitive pitchers of Heliamphora chimantensis are an example of pitfall traps. Five basic trapping mechanisms are found in carnivorous plants. 1. Pitfall traps (pitcher plants) trap prey in a rolled leaf that contains a pool of digestive enzymes or bacteria. 2.

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