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| So you're into sci fi? But what about sci fact? Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction... Each month our very own Voyager Science Queen* will bring you interesting, quirky and downright bizarre tasty morsels from the world of science. And its all completely, totally, 100% true! October Sci-Facts |
CARNIVOROUS PLANTS Say it with flowers, send a triffid.
Who am I to argue against a popular trend? A plant is carnivorous if it attracts, captures, and kills animals, and then digests the nutrients from that animal in some form. There are active and passive hunters. The pitcher plant is a passive hunter, it attracts insects, reptiles and amphibians. These plants, Nepenthes, are usually the largest of all the carnivorous plants, and can capture the largest prey. A pitcher plant has a modified petiole, which forms a cup full of sticky liquid, usually protected from the rain by an umbrella-like 'lid'. This liquid smells delicious, and there are extra nectar glands to lure the victims into a sticky death by drowning. The ‘mouth’ of the cup may be waxy and slippery, to increase the chances of some poor creature slipping into the syrupy goo. The animals dissolve in the pitcher, and the plant absorbs its nutrients. Then there are the sundews, Drosera. They use both active and passive methods to capture prey. Sundews are a pretty plants covered in sticky mucilaginous glands. To look at, these glands are glossy drops at the tips of tentacle-like bits sticking out from the leaves, with a texture similar to coarse fur. They are often coloured like petals. An insect is lured into making contact with these glue-like blobs, where it becomes caught and entangled, with more and more tentacles making contact as the plant actively contracts over its prey. Eventually, the prey either dies from exhaustion or suffocation. The sundew then secretes enzymes, which dissolves the insect. The nutrient goo is then absorbed through the leaf surface. The most active predator is the Venus Fly trap, Dionaea muscipula. This plant has modified leaves, each leaf forming a clam-shaped trap fringed with spikes. In the open state, these leaves are convex, but they are concave in the closed state. When an unsuspecting insect wanders into the centre of one of these leaves, it blunders against the hair-like triggers, which causes the leaf to ‘flip’ and snap shut. Once shut, the leaf is stimulated by the struggling prey to close tightly and form a sealed cell. Enzymes are then secreted by glands. Digestion takes about ten days, after which the prey is reduced to a husk. The leaf opens, the pathetic remains are blown away or drop to the ground, and the trap is ready for its next victim.
I apologise for no Biography or Concept this month, even though there isn’t really a rule to say you HAVE to have them. I have a lot of assignments for university. Go read a book... |
| *The Voyager Science Queen is also known as Lynne Green So, who is this woman who attempts to entertain us with Science? Well, I really am a scientist. I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Queensland, in Zoology. And, at the moment, I am working in a Pathology laboratory. I have always been intensely curious about every aspect of our universe, from the teeny tiny workings of the gene right up to the mind-bending forces that are twisting and knotting inside a blackhole. So, now I am sharing a brain stuffed full of trivia...and hopefully entertaining people at the same time. As well, I write Fantasy stories and novels. One day, I hope to have a book published, but don't hold your breath. Reading is my other major love, and my favourite authors are Terry Pratchett and Isaac Asimov, though I could list hundreds of others. If I had one wish, I ask for more time to write! Read previous Sci-Facts: What Makes Matter, Well Matter? Looking for more scientific oddities? Have you checked out Dr Steven Juan's website? He is, quite literally, the wizard of odds! |
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For some reason, carnivorous flora seems to attract the attention of inquiring minds. It is a kind of ‘man bites dog’ interest; you are fascinated by the concept of ferocious vegetables hunting down helpless prey. One of my children even has a book called the "The Celery Stalks at Midnight!" by James Howe. They were often depicted in "The Farside" cartoon strip. Even Terry Pratchett likes them...
Gruesome...but not terribly scary. I think I prefer Cleopatra from 'The Addams Family'. She had personality.