Carnivorous Plants and Their Prey

“What then distinguishes the carnivorous plants from the rest of the
The Plants
plant world? Why should we still share the feelings of the
naturalists of
the 18 th Century who regarded them as miracula naturae?”
Francis Ernest Lloyd (1)
Table of Contents
Introduction….…………………………………………………………………………..…….…..4
Numbers and General Distribution of the Carnivorous Plants…………………………….………5
Carnivorous Plants Defined?………………………………………………………………………6
Abiotic Conditions of Carnivorous Plant Habitats………………………………………………...9
Benefits and Costs of Carnivory to Plants………………………………………………………..11
The Prey
Carnivorous Trap Designs………………………………………………………………………..16
Pitfall Traps……………………………………………………………………………………….16
Sticky Flypaper Traps…………………………………………………………………………….19
Spring Traps………………………………………………………………………………………20
Lobster-pot and Combination Traps……………………………………………………………...21
Prey Items………………………………………………………………………………………...22
The Pollinators
Pollination………………………………………………………………………………………...27
Temporal Separation of Flowers and Traps………………………………………………………27
Spatial Separation of Flowers and Traps………………………………………………………....29
Other Means of Isolating Pollinators and Prey……...……….…………………………………...30
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