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Pitcher Plant
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
This is a species of Pitcher plant, which i initially thought was a Venus fly trap. It was on the coastal strip of southern central Borneo. There It was next to a sample pit we were working on, and to my surprise there were quite a few insects flying around the open mouth of this trap. A very remote place not far from the coast.
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over evolutionary time. However, some pitcher plant genera (such as Nepenthes) are placed within clades consisting mostly of flypaper traps: this indicates that this view may be too simplistic, and some pitchers may have evolved from flypaper traps by loss of mucilage.
Whatever their evolutionary origins, foraging, flying or crawling insects such as flies are attracted to the cavity formed by the cupped leaf, often by visual lures such as anthocyanin pigments, and nectar bribes. The sides of the pitcher are slippery and may be grooved in such a way so as to ensure that the insects cannot climb out. The small bodies of liquid contained within the pitcher traps are called phytotelmata. They drown, and gradually dissolve the body of the insect. This may occur by bacterial action (the bacteria being washed into the pitcher by rainfall) or by enzymes secreted by the plant itself. Furthermore, some pitcher plants contain mutualistic insect larvae, which feed on trapped prey, and whose excreta the plant absorbs. Whatever the mechanism of digestion, the prey items are converted into a solution of amino acids, peptides, phosphates, ammonium and urea, from which the plant obtains its mineral nutrition (particularly nitrogen and phosphorus). Like all carnivorous plants, they occur in locations where the soil is too poor in minerals and/or too acidic for most plants to be able to grow.
Wikipedia.
Thanks to John for helping out with the proper ID. |
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- clnaef
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 763 W: 58 N: 631]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(6490) - [2007-05-07 8:59]
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Bonjour,
Fleur intéressante, je n'en ai jamais vu de semblable.
Bonne journée.
clnaef
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- JPlumb
(2837)
- [2007-05-08 18:49]
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Hi Murray, well seen capture of this carnivore. I've never actually seen one of these guys in the wild, only as pictures or in stores. To see this growing up through the grass as a weed gives a good feel for how they grow in the wild.
Thanks, John
Hello Murray,
Interesting background story!
Well done on capturing the plant, probably not easy to spot in this environment...
Well composed presentation!
Greetings,
Pablo -
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 507 W: 17 N: 555]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif){kind=small}