Friday 25th March 2022

We learn that plants don't 'eat' their food but instead produce food through photosynthesis. But there are plants which prove this concept wrong.

Among them is the Venus fly trap.

Carnivory is has evolved repeatedly for plants like the Venus fly trap purely as a means for survival - the need to find an alternative source of vital nutrients. Protein packed insects are just the way to go!

This essentially means that the plants get their nutrients (e.g. phosphorus, nitrogen etc) from a different source and primarily from the leaves and not the roots! Very similarly, these traps contain digestive juices that process the trapped prey.

Such a fascinating phenomenon!

Teaching points:

1. Research plants that acquire their nutrients differently from photosynthesis.

2. Food systems - where do predator plants sit on the food chain?

Further reading:

https://knowablemagazine.org/article/living-world/2022/how-plants-turned-predator

https://cnr.ncsu.edu/news/2021/01/five-things-you-didnt-know-about-venus-flytraps/