Carnivorous Plants
If you want to add a unique touch to your garden, carnivorous plants are bound to get attention. From the common Venus Flytrap to the Cobra plant, these exotics serve several purposes. In areas that have high populations of bugs, they can lowers the amount of flies or other insects that bother you. The size of the plant you select will determine the amount of insects consumed, however, the entertainment they provide for both adults and children alike, is well worth the investment.
Basically there are five different types of carnivorous plants for you to consider. Of course the most popular and more widely known are the plants from the Venus Flytrap plant family. The carnivorous Venus flytrap plant can snap its clamshell leaves around an insect in less than a second.
Once an insect is captured, the plant closes its trap tightly around the meal and bathes it in digestive juices that dissolve the insect’s soft, inner parts. Digestion takes five to 12 days, after which the trap reopens, then the insect’s exoskeleton blows away in the wind or is washed away by rain.
Plants within the Venus Flytrap family have a large variety of different colored species found in various sizes.
Sundew plants of the Venus Flytrap family are amongst the most interesting to watch. These plants secrete a glue which traps and breaks down insects for nourishment. These carnivorous plants should be treated with caution in the home, as the secretions can cause agitation to the skin.
Bladder traps plants are a fascinating subset of carnivorous plants. These plants function through the osmosis of water to create a suction within the body of the plant. Once an insect or aquatic species has been trapped within, escape is difficult. Unlike many carnivorous plant species, these are more commonly found underwater than above ground.
Finally, the lobster pot traps are among some of the most unusual looking carnivorous plants that you can acquire, they function by giving insects an easy way to enter, but little chance of escape.
Corkscrew plants are interesting, in that, the inside of the plant mouth is filled with downward pointing obstructions, used to prevent it’s prey from escaping it’s grasp.
If you do not wish to have a true carnivorous plant in your garden, but would like something with similar characteristics, there are several related species you may want to consider. Some of these type of plants come from the Martyniaceae family, such as the Brocchinia Roridula. They are not considered to be in the same classification as true carnivorous plants because they do not, attract, kill and digest prey.
If you decided to plant or house any type of carnivorous plant, you will need to be sure to keep them out of reach from children. While most of them are relatively harmless to humans, digestion of these plants should be avoided, due to the digestive enzymes that the plant utilizes to break down prey.
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