Most Popular Carnivorous Plants Found In Australia
Carnivorous plants have fascinated scientists for a long time. How do they catch their prey? Do they have muscles or an internal stomach like other typical plants that must get nutrients from the soil, but because these carnivores live in nutrient-poor environments with little food available to them anyway–they supplement by digesting insects! In Australia alone there are 10 amazing types ofcarnivorous plants that we think you might want to know about.
We also have written another article, Fantastic Carnivorous Plants and Where to Find Them, which you may want to explore further.
Waterwheel Plant (Aldrovanda vesiculosa)
Aldrovanda vesiculosa, also known as the waterwheel plant, is a close relative of the Venus flytrap. They are, in fact, a smaller aquatic cousin of the Venus flytrap. They are typically aquatic and float freely. They do not have roots. The plant feeds on different types of marine animals, but they are highly adaptive to catching the mosquito larvae. Studies have already shown that these plants to be severely endangered in the forests of their native Africa.
A healthy population of water daphnia and mosquito larva is essential because they need a constant supply of nutrients. Furthermore, the plant needs sufficient sun, although growers must be wary of algae that might crowd out the plant. The addition of pine needles and oak leaves to the water periodically can combat this.
Waterwheel Facts :
- The waterwheel plant, also known as Aldrovanda vesiculosa, is an unusual rootless insectivorous aquatic plant. The plant uses a trap mechanism referred to as the snap trap to eat small marine vertebrates.
- The plant grows very fast and can reach four to nine millimeters in a day. Sometimes the plant can produce a new whorl per day. As the waterwheel grows from one end, the opposite end will die off.
Moccasin Plant (Cephalotus)
Originally found in Southwest Australia, the moccasin plant has all the characteristics of a meat-eating vegetable. It uses sweetly scented nectars to attract insects. Then it entices them into the plant’s moccasin-shaped pitchers where digestive enzymes slowly dissolve the prey. The pitcher’s lids contain translucent cells to confuse their prey; it causes the bug to knock themselves out as they try to escape. A major factor that distinguishes the moccasin plant from other carnivorous breeds is its close relationship with flowering plants like oak trees and apple trees. That is because of its similarities with other carnivorous plants that can be traced back to convergent evolution.
Moccasin Facts:
- The Moccasin plant has a leafless stalk that only bears 1 or 2 flowers with a unique pink, inflated petal.
- Moccasin plants are the largest native orchids and can be found in both high rocky woods and low sandy woods of the mountains. In most cases, only a few hundreds of their flowers can be counted within an area. The plants propagate poorly and are difficult to thrive in wildflower gardens.
Rainbow Plants (Byblis)
The rainbow plant is an attractive and delicate carnivorous plant with sparkling leaves and elegant flowers that shimmer in the sunlight. The name rainbow comes from the attractive nature of their beautiful mucilage covered leaves. Native to Western Australia, Byblis is the only genus that belongs to the Byblidaceae family.
Glistering and in most cases delicate, the plant mostly appears as frosted with water, but sparkle with different colors in sunlight. Their beautiful flowers and shining leaves mask the plant’s lethal nature as they lure and trap many small insects that make the deadly mistake of landing on them.
Rainbow Plant Facts:
- Growing from the leaves of these carnivorous plants, you will find attractive flowers of pink or white. Their flowers of B.liniflora and B. aquatic often self-pollinate after closing.
- The rainbow plants are native to southwestern Australia and the tropics of northern Australia. Sometimes it can also be found in New Guinea. Because of the conditions that exist in their natural habitats and frequent fires sweeping these areas, most species of the rainbow plant require fire for the seeds to germinate.
Trigger Plant (Stylidium)
As aggressive as the name sounds, it is not clear whether the trigger plant is carnivorous or just tries to protect itself from irritating insects. Some Stylidium species are equipped with sticky hairs (Trichomes) that capture small insects, which do not have anything to do with pollination. The leaves then secrete enzymes that aid in digestion, slowly dissolving the trapped insects. What is not clear at this point is whether the trigger plant gets any nutrients from the trapped bugs or the plant just tries to deal with pesky unwanted visitors.
Tiger Plant Facts:
- Trigger plants are very interesting to watch. Humans can activate the same reaction as bugs. A simple tickle of the inside of the plant can trigger an explosive reaction. Once activated, the column requires at least one hour before it can snap again.
- About 70% of the trigger plant species naturally grow in the south-west of Australia. The region is the greatest Centre for the evolution of trigger plants.
Sundews (Drosera)
If an insect ever wrote a horror novel, then there is no doubt that the monster in it would be a sundew. The sundew is most likely the most widespread carnivorous plants across the globe. There are about 130 species that can be found almost everywhere. From the king sundew, South African winter growing sundews to rosette tuberous sundews, fan-leafed tuberous sundews, climbing tuberous sundews, pigmy sundews, woolly sundews, tropical sundews, fork-leafed sundews, temperate sundews, and the cape sundew, each of them is a unique plant.
All sundew plants have carnivorous habits and delicate flowers with shining dewdrops, which gives them an attractive appearance.
Sundew Facts:
- Sundew flowers vary greatly in quantity, size, shape, seasonal timing, and the number of seeds produced. However, most of them are beautiful shades of red, pink, or white, and all share the same reproductive structures.
- It is the only carnivorous plant that can be found on all continents. However, research has found that they grow perfectly in Queensland, Australia.
Drosera glanduligera
Also known as the Pimpernel sundew, Drosera glanduligera is a carnivorous plant that commonly found in Australia. The plant trapping mechanism is unique because it blends the features of both snap traps and the flypaper. Crawling bugs trigger the catapult-flypaper trap when a specific plant cell breaks. The process is only repeated if the new tentacles emerge.
Drosera Fact:
- Drosera glanduligera is endemic in southeastern Australia, south Western Australia, and Tasmania.
Tropical Pitcher Plant (Genus Nepenthes)
The tropical pitcher plant is a rare and unique carnivorous plant that eats insects. While typical plants use the soil to get their nutrients, Carnivorous plants are found in poor soils that lack nutrients. This is because they trap and digest insects to get to meet their nutrient needs.
The pitcher plant includes several species. The carnivorous plant attracts insects using a sweet scent of nectar and already dead insects. Once an insect has been trapped, it cannot escape and drowns in a pool of water. Rather than getting the nutrients the plant needs from the soil, the plant uses enzymes for digestion.
Tropical Pitcher Plant Fact:
- There are some animals and insects that exist harmoniously with the tropical pitcher plants. Predators like spiders hiding under the lid and the larvae of insects such as mosquitoes living inside the pitcher plant. Also, the plant’s pitchers hold water, which is sometimes drunk by monkeys and even thirsty humans looking for any water in the tropical heat.
Bladderwort (Utricularia)
Bladderwort is native to all continents except the Antarctic. This carnivorous plant is mostly found living in rivers. It floats in lakes and streams that contain small sack-like traps growing alongside the stem. If triggered, the traps have a smart door-like valve, which opens and closes within one-thousandth of a second.
The plant’s trapping mechanism operates by pumping water through the walls of the trap that builds increasing pressure. Furthermore, the long trap hairs work like a lever. Once a bug has touched these hairs, the wall of the trap will open sucking in the insect. The door will close when the trap is filled with water to digest the trapped bug.
Bladderwort Facts:
- The bladderwort eats many different aquatic species, including water fleas, mosquito larvae, and sometimes the young tadpoles.
- With a trap that can snap shut in less than 1/35th of a second, the venus flytrap is no match for the bladderwort and can shut 100 times faster.
Byblis gigantea
Do not confuse them with the Sundews, although they are unique species and are close cousins of butterworts, sharing the same flower structure and digestive glands. The plant develops narrow stems, from where the linear leaves emerge. Dainty flowers grow from the leaves.
The leaves of the plant have two types of glands, one secreting the shimmering sticky fluid to attract and ensnare insects. Bugs and mosquitoes do not stand a chance with these leaves. The insect will land on the leaf, expecting to have a sweet snack, only to get stuck. The insect dies from suffocation and exhaustion as it tries to escape.
Byblis Fact:
- The plants are native to the Perth suburbs of Western Australia. They are commonly found in swampy areas and seasonally wet regions, and grow in the sandy, peaty soil.
Nepenthes rowaniae
The main feature that differentiates the tropical pitcher plant from other carnivorous plants is their unique scales. It ‘pitchers’ can grow up to 1 foot in height, Perfect for capturing and digesting not just small insects, but also small mammals, amphibians and lizards. The plant’s sweet-smelling nectar draws the doomed insects in, and once the insect falls into the pitcher, enzymes are secreted to aid in digestion, which takes about two months.
Nepenthes Fact:
- There are approximately 150 species of Nepenthes scattered in the eastern hemisphere, Australia, Southeast Asia, and native Madagascar. However, pitcher plants belong to the genus Sarracenia and can also be found in the Eastern United States.
