Traps of carnivorous pitcher plants as habitats (Review)

Traps of carnivorous pitcher plants as habitats

A great diversity of organisms, ranging from bacteria to vertebrates, survive and propagate in the otherwise deadly traps of carnivorous pitcher plants. Adlassnig et al. review the diversity of trap inquilines and the data on their environment, the pitcher fluid. Nepenthes and Cephalotus produce acidic, toxic or digestive fluids and host a limited diversity of inquilines, whereas genera without efficient enzymes show more diversity and depend to a large extent on their symbionts for prey utilization.