#19 Australia's Flesh Eating Sundew

Ok so, they don't really eat 'flesh' per say, their main prey is insects but they have been known to trap small animals sometimes. I'm talking about carnivorous plants. Especially native Australian ones. Did you know that 187 species of carnivourous plants are endemic (only found in) to Australia? I didn't!

I have just recently gone back to my local library to borrow some books when I spotted a book about Australian carnivorous plants. It had amazing photographs and great information. It reminded me of the Sundew (genus: Drosera) I spotted last year on my ecology field trip. They were the most amazing little things I had ever seen! I have always wanted to see other carnivorous plants other than the Venus fly trap but I had no idea they grew in Australia. As you could imagine, I was half in shock, half completely excited. My first native carnivorous plant. Gosh, I love Australia.

Spoon-leaved Sundew (Drosera spatulata) - Photo taken by Jennifer Vu (me)

Here are my photos of the very first species of Carnivorous plants I found. This is a species of Sundew, commonly known as the Spoon-leaved Sundew (Drosera spatulata).

#4 One Irresistable Trap

We all know about the Venus Fly Trap. If an insect flies into it, it's a goner. But, do you actually know how the trap works?

Silhouette of a Bee Source: animalseatinganimals

Even if a fly has a lightning fast reaction - 20 milliseconds from the moment it registers movement to take-off - it can still fall victim to this even faster plant. Venus flytraps live in waterlogged and acidic soil where nitrogen is hard to get. Therefore, it needs to adapt to find another way to get this nitrogen and this is where the trap becomes handy. The trap is actually an extension of it's leaves.