Carnivorous plants are plants that eat animals. For the nutrients they provide, carnivorous plants attract, capture, and digest animals. Approximately 630 species of carnivorous plants are now known to science.

Despite the fact that most meat-eating plants devour insects, bigger plants can digest reptiles and small mammals. Crustaceans, mosquito larvae, and tiny fish are eaten by smaller carnivorous plants that specialize in single-celled creatures (such as bacteria and protozoa).

Carnivory is such an effective adaptation that it has evolved several times and is seen in plant groups that are not related.

Carnivory, while beneficial for nutritional supplementation, does not replace the need for photosynthesis and root systems. Carnivory simply allows plants to take use of all available resources.

Where can you find carnivorous plants? Carnivorous plants live in a variety of environments, although most of them are wet, low-nutrient environments including bogs, swamps, waterbodies, watercourses, woodlands, and sandy or rocky areas. Carnivorous plants may be found on every continent except Antarctica, and several species, such as sundews, butterworts, and bladderworts, are endemic to the UK.

What happens when carnivorous plants eat?

The digestive enzymes produced by most carnivorous plants disintegrate their prey into a healthy insect stew. Some offer a welcoming environment for symbiotic microorganisms that help them break down their catch.

Carnivorous plants catch their prey in a variety of ways.

Carnivorous plants may be divided into five categories depending on their trapping methods: pitfall, adhesive, snap, snare, and suction.

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@brane1978 posted 2 years ago

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