Don’t Worry; You Won’t Get Attacked By Killer Plants

Carnivorous plants are much less scary than they seem. Many of them are small enough to grow in a regular flower pot, and no, they don’t suddenly grow in size and start attacking puppies and children in the middle of the night.

Carnivorous plants pose no threat to humans. They are not poisonous to touch, and they are not big enough to consume an entire person. They are not big enough to eat a finger. No, you won’t get eaten by killer plants. Mosquitoes, yes, and good riddance. Spiders, yes. Puppies, no. People, absolutely not. 

Carnivorous Plants Are Quite Small

Most carnivorous plants are less than a foot tall. Many are significantly shorter, and some even spread out like lichens. Granted, if they were maybe 100 times larger, they would be pretty scary, and you would not want one around. And if they were like some of the plants in Harry Potter, like the devil’s snare… No, thanks.

But depending on where you live, you could probably keep a few carnivorous plants in your house. You might even appreciate how they decrease the excess mosquito population! They won’t eat you alive, and they aren’t guarding any magical stones that Albus Dumbledore has been hiding.

Carnivorous Plants Only Eat What Falls Into Them

To get eaten by a carnivorous plant, you would have to shrink yourself down so that you are only about an inch tall. Then you would have to have somebody drop you directly into the mouth of the carnivorous plant. 

What, they don’t go roaming around looking for prey? No, they are rooted to the ground. They only eat things that fall into their mouths. After all, they are plants. Their roots draw nutrients up out of the soil, and their leaves photosynthesize sunlight into energy. Moreover, they do that awesome magic trick of converting carbon dioxide into oxygen.

The Most Well-Known Carnivorous Plant Is Probably The Venus Flytrap

You may have heard of the Venus flytrap, probably the most famous of all the carnivorous plants. It grows in the American South, particularly in North and South Carolina, but can be found in greenhouses and botanical gardens worldwide.

The Venus flytrap is a small flowering plant that has lobe-like features, which serve as its mouth. When an unsuspecting insect ventures onto one of the lobes, it stimulates some of the plant’s hair and causes it to secrete a reddish sap to digest the unfortunate critter. The lobe closes around the insect, and the plant spends about ten days digesting it.

The Common Butterwort Lives In Boggy Areas

Butterworts live in many different climates, ranging from the Arctic tundra of Siberia (which can become quite pleasant during the summer months, when the snow melts) to the much warmer weather of Central and South America. The common butterwort thrives in bogs, which are like swamps – very wet.

If you have ever used fly paper to try to catch those pesky little critters that may circle your living room, you can easily understand how butterworts trap their prey. They secrete a sticky substance, which traps unsuspecting bugs that land on the plant. They then secrete digestive enzymes to digest the insect and absorb nutrients from it.

The Waterwheel Eats Small Aquatic Animals

Like the Venus flytrap, the waterwheel has lobes that serve as mouths for little critters that get too close. When a small fish or other marine animal finds its way to one of those lobes, it closes and traps the animal inside. The waterwheel then secretes digestive enzymes to digest its prey.

Waterwheels thrive in marine environments across the Americas, Europe, and Africa. This free-floating plant is considered endangered, so international organizations are taking measures to preserve its existence for future generations.

The Roundleaf Sundew Traps Insects In Its Hairs

Roundleaf sundews are wildflowers that look a bit like dandelions, once they turn to the cotton-ish fluff (the kind that children like to blow into the wind). Each brightly colored “petal” looks like a hair that is tipped with dew, making it attractive to insects and other critters that may get a little bit too curious.

That “dew” is a sticky secretion that traps bugs that find themselves on it. Similar to getting caught in a spider’s web, they cannot get out. The roundleaf sundew then secretes digestive enzymes that draw the nutrients out of the prey. Yum, yum. 

The Yellow Pitcher Drowns Its Prey

The “mouth” of a yellow pitcher is different from the lobes of the famous (or infamous) Venus flytrap and its underwater cousin, the waterwheel. And unlike butterworts and roundleaf sundews, the yellow pitcher doesn’t trap its prey with sticky secretions.

Instead, this carnivorous plant has a long “pitcher” for a mouth, and unfortunate bugs and small creatures fall into it. To attract them, the yellow pitcher produces a sweet nectar-like substance; once they fall in, trying to get the nectar, the yellow pitcher digests its meal.

The Dewy Pine Entices Its Prey With Its Aroma

Dewy pines live in the dry, desert regions of Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Where it lives, the soil is generally too poor to provide for all of the plants’ needs, so it makes up for that nutrient deficit by eating bugs. It has many spiny leaves, which look a little bit like arms.

Those leaves are covered with a sticky substance. The dewy pine releases an aromatic scent to attract insects, and the insects then get stuck on the leaves. The plant then digests the insects to absorb their nutrients.

Bladderworts Trap Organisms In Their Bladders

In case you were wondering, no, these aren’t the kinds of bladders that you empty when you go to the bathroom. A bladder can refer to any sac that releases water, not just the organ that stores urine. Bladderworts are water-based plants that have bladders that serve as mouths to help them eat their prey.

These aquatic plants may eat fleas, insects and insect larvae, marine worms, and other small creatures that venture too close. Though there are hundreds of different kinds of bladderworts, they generally live in the northern hemisphere. 

Cobra Lilies Look (And Act) Like Snakes

If you have ever seen a picture of a snake charmer trying to lure a cobra, you may be familiar with the image of a snake hood that can flare up whenever the cobra feels threatened or is going to attack. Cobra lilies have a similar hood – and they look like cobras!

And given that they eat meat, they act a bit like cobras, too. Cobra lilies secrete a sweet nectar-like substance to attract their prey, which then gets trapped inside. However, just to confuse the prey, the plant is translucent, so the bug can see outside, like looking through a window, but can’t get out! Downward-pointing hairs inside the plant prevent the prey from being able to escape.

Brocchinia Reducta Uses Bacteria To Digest Insects

Brocchinia reducta lives mostly in South America, particularly in Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, and Guyana. Its whorl-type leaves somewhat resemble the top part of a pineapple (or the bottom part, if you consider the way that pineapples grow).

The leaves are filled with water, and they attract insects. Unlike other carnivorous plants, brocchinia reducta does not produce digestive enzymes. Instead, it relies on symbiotic processes with bacteria. Symbiotic processes are those in which two animals (or in this case, a plant and bacteria) depend on each other.

Some Pitcher Plants (aka Monkey Cups) Eat Rats

Most carnivorous plants feed on tiny prey, sometimes as small as fleas, not usually more substantial than little spiders. Nevertheless, pitcher plants (the family includes the yellow pitcher) get to be considerably larger and have broader dietary needs. Moreover, to meet those nutritional needs, they eat bigger prey.

Monkey cups are a type of pitcher plant, and they live in parts of Asia through Australia, along with the African island of Madagascar. Larger monkey cups consume vertebrate animals, including rats. They might also consume other small amphibians and reptiles that fall into their pitchers.

Sources:

“Plant.” Wikipedia.

“10 of the most fascinating carnivorous plants.” MSN News. May 28, 2019.