Carnivorus plants

[harmagedon11]

Dionaea

[harmagedon11]

Drosera capensis

[bizzareplants]

Drosera finlaysoniana wrapping itself around an insect in preparation for its leaf’s digestive phase. 

[bizzareplants]

Roridula dentata, a resinous carnivorous plant native to South Africa. These plants eventually become medium-to-large shrubs, and have been know to snare small birds!

[southbaytraps]

Cross Teeth | Superior clone, coming soon

#venusflytrap #carnivorousplant #naturephotography #flytrap #venusflytraps #garden #predators #savagegarden #plantlife #traplife #macrophotography #pinkplant #carnivorousplants #southbaytraps #californiacarnivores #carnivorous #plant #nursery #losangeles #california (at SouthBay Traps)

[bizzareplants]

Nepenthes maxima (m) x truncata (D) bred by Exotica Plants in Australia. Despite their general reputation as “hard to grow”, Nepenthes pitcher plants can often be grown outdoors year-round in most frost-free climates. 

[katehalpin]

I’m very much enjoying my new job with @california_carnivores. There is so much beauty here. I can’t wait to start painting all that I see. This is the flower of the amazing sundew, Drosera cistiflora. Swoon! #drosera #californiacarnivores #carnivorousplants #sundews

[katehalpin]

I’ve got ping fever over at the nursery. These carnivorous plants make such beautiful flowers! 😍🌸🌺🌸 This is just a sample of what’s in bloom right now. @california_carnivores #pinguicula #carnivorousplants #butterwort

[katehalpin]

Pitcher plants, butterworts, and pine lilies! Original watercolor at www.katehalpinart.com #painting #carnivorousplants #sarracenia #pinguicula #liliumcatesbaei

[southbaytraps]

The Notorious Red Piranha… Strikes a crane fly trying to get its fill of morning dew. #savage

#redpiranha #venusflytrap #carnivorousplant #naturephotography #flytrap #venusflytraps #garden #predators #savagegarden #plantlife #traplife #macrophotography #cranefly #carnivorousplants #southbaytraps #californiacarnivores #carnivorous #plant #nursery #losangeles #california (at SouthBay Traps)

[renamonkalou]

[jeremiahsplants]

Amazing Nepenthes at Exotica Plants, Australia

[katehalpin]

I’ve got ping fever over at the nursery. These carnivorous plants make such beautiful flowers! 😍🌸🌺🌸 This is just a sample of what’s in bloom right now. @california_carnivores #pinguicula #carnivorousplants #butterwort

[fhauvhebsucbejdiak]

Sundew Catapults Prey into Trap

Drosera glanduligera is a species of sundew, a group of carnivorous plants that use sticky tentacles to ensnare their prey. This is species is unique in that it has extremely fast ‘snap tentacles’ which literally fling their prey into their sticky traps.

Sundews have evolved the ability to digest insects as an adaptation to their nutrient poor habitats. Once a prey is caught in the glue-like secretions, it either dies from exhaustion or asphyxiates from being smothered in dew. The plant then secretes enzymes which break down the insect, allowing the plant to absorb its nutrients.

All species of sundew are able to move their inner tentacles to pass prey towards the center of the leaf, where digestion is most efficient. Many species are able to fold the surface of the leaf around the prey to ensure contact with a larger digestive surface.

Drosera glanduligera is the fastest moving sundew, with ‘snap tentacles’ which fold inwards within 75 milliseconds. This action is triggered when an insect makes contact with them, and are powerful enough to catapult the insect into the center of the leaf, where it becomes glued down. 

Gif from video: Poppinga, S. Et al. via Wikimedia Commons

[californiacarnivores]

Photo by: Patrick Hollingsworth

This is the bladder trap of an aquatic bladderwort under a microscope. Believe it or not, this is a modified leaf! It creates a vacuum inside the tiny balloon shaped leaf. The long guide hairs help swimming creatures find their way to the mouth, which is darker in this photo. When something approaches, the mouth opens and the sides of the bladder pop out sucking the unfortunate victim in at 1/5000 of a second! It’s one of the fastest most complicated things in nature and it is still not clearly understood!

[bizzareplants]

A solitary flower of Pinguicula sp. gigantea “Alfred Lau #13″, an undescribed species of carnivorous butterwort from Oaxaca, Mexico. 

[bizzareplants]

Proboscidea parviflora v. hohokamiana. This plant is quasi-carnivorous, and every surface of its tissues—from it’s stems to it’s petals (pictured)–is covered in sticky trichomous glands. This particular subspecies was domesticated by Native Americans in the American Southwest–the seeds and young pods are edible, and the mature woody fruit are used in basket-making.