A novel approach uniting maths, physics, and biology has uncovered how diverse rim shapes in carnivorous pitcher plants relate to strategies for catching different insect prey.
Tag - Nepenthes
Alun Salt
A.I. Assistant
Success tastes like something else for a high-altitude pitcher plant
Hunting at high altitude, where the insects are few, can be difficult. Quite a few pitcher plants prefer to wait for a delivery.
Fi Gennu
What makes a pitcher plant’s trap so slippery?
Research into the wettability of a pitcher plant's trap reveals that its the grooves you can see that make it so slippery - and the grooves you can't.
What happens to nutrients, after a carnivorous plant has digested its prey?
While carnivorous plants eat insects, they get most of their energy from photosynthesis, like other plants. New research investigates how carnivory affects photosynthesis.
Coeliacs, snakebites and the perils of apricots…
Nigel Chaffey continues his exploration of the unexpected health benefits of some foods.
Nigel Chaffey
Evolution of a carnivorous plant’s wood anatomy
Given the current pace of anthropogenic change, understanding plants’ evolutionary response to shifting abiotic conditions is vitally important. Schwallier et al. analyse the relationships between anatomical wood...
botanyone
Prey-induced responses in carnivorous Nepenthes
Carnivorous plants of the genus Nepenthes catch and digest prey, mainly arthropods, in their pitcher traps in order to obtain additional nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate. The digestive character of the pitcher...
The cost–benefit model for botanical carnivory
This study concludes that traps have lower rates of photosynthesis than leaves, and that leaves have higher rates of photosynthesis after feeding.
Root exudates and intraspecific variability in allelopathy
Results indicate the potential for metabolic profiling as a tool for examining plant–plant interactions.
Fluid properties influence diet in Nepenthes pitcher plants
Fluid from pitchers of four Nepenthes species is studied to determine retention capacity and time-to-kill for different species of ants and flies.
The most efficient trap isn’t always the most deadly trap
Pitchers plants are carnivorous. They catch small animals, usually insects to gain nutrients like Nitrogen. You’d expect that they’d evolve their traps to be as effective as possible. If an insect gets away...
Climate and capture mechanism in pitcher plants
The influence of climate on the mechanisms employed by Nepenthes in prey capture and retention.
AJ Cann
Adapted to kill: How the pitcher plant traps its prey
When it comes to carnivorous plants it’s Venus Flytraps that get the most attention, with their snapping jaws. Bladderworts have stunningly fast traps. Sundews glisten and coil around their prey. Pitcher plants...
Waste not, want not…
A little while ago we looked at auxotrophic algae getting a helping hand from bacteria; now we’ll take a look at ‘proper plants’ that get a little help from animals (in a sort of mixotrophy). But it’s not exactly...
