Carnivorous plants

We sometimes see little glass jars with the oddly-shaped Venus Fly Traps enclosed, available for sale. The ads may say Feed Me, I Eat Meat! It does not grow in Nova Scotia but other ‘meat eating” plants are found in our bogs.

Pitcher-plants and Sundews are the names of fierce herbs who devour their insect visitors. The pitchers are modified leaves bearing hairs pointing downward. Veins in crimson attract visitors, perhaps mimicking nectar guides. Any victims falling into the rain-filled vessels are doomed to digestion by this hungry plant!

The Sundews are more active. Their modified leaves wear shining glue-topped hairs. Once the insect visitor is trapped on the hairs, the leaves begin to curl around the struggling victim. Carnivory in plants evolved to fulfill the need for nitrogen and other nutrients, absent from much of their peatland homes. Newfoundland’s provincial floral emblem is the pitcher-plant.

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Sean Blaney, photographer. Pitcher Plant, common in NS bogs.

Thread-leaved Sundew plant, by Martin Thomas. a species-at-risk

Spatulate-leaved Sundew, Sean Blaney. A common carnivorous species