Carnivorous plants: a review

Carnivory offers plants special advantages in habitats where nutrient supply is scarce, but counterbalancing costs are the investments in the synthesis and maintenance of trapping organs and hydrolysing enzymes. Król et al. review carnivory in plants, focussing in particular on physiological processes associated with active trapping and digestion of prey. They consider that carnivorous plants can be viewed as unique models for the examination of rapid organ movements, excitability, enzyme secretion, nutrient absorption, food-web relationships, and phylogenetic and intergeneric relationships.