Carnivorous Plants
Me next to a group of Sarracenia flava in the Green Swamp Nature Preserve in North Carolina.
I have been growing carnivorous plants, primarily Venus flytraps, for over 12 years. I created the following pages to share what I have learned with others who are interested in these remarkable plants! Click one of the links below to learn more.
Carnivorous plants evolved carnivory as a response to nutrient poor soils. Most plants get nutrients from a combination of mineral sources from weathering rocks and decomposing organic matter. In environments where carnivorous plants evolved, nutrients from both of these sources are scarce.
Most plants rely on soil microbes, a group of organisms called decomposers, to decompose dead, fallen organic material and turn it into nutrients that are available for plant roots to absorb. In environments where carnivorous plants are found, the soil chemistry is inhospitable to many of these soil microbes. Therefore, instead of being broken down into nutrients, fallen organic material accumulates and eventually becomes peat.
Carnivorous plants developed carnivory so that they do not need to rely on soil microbes to decompose organic material for them. Instead, they can trap their own organic material, i.e. insects, and turn them into a usable form of nutrients. Although they get their nutrients from the prey they capture, carnivorous plants still photosynthesize and require a lot of sunlight for energy.