Sundews

Covered in long sticky tentacles, the sundew is a predatory plant that looks like it's from another planet. Their cute leaves and bright red stalks which seem to capture and sweeten the morning dew are the perfect landing spot for an insect. for some, it'll be their last. In sundew country, no one can hear you scream.

Sundews are members of the genus drosera. There are about 200 species worldwide and they live in every continent except Antarctica. They're mostly found in Africa and in Australia, the land that constantly wants to put you six feet under. Charles Darwin was fascinated by these plants and wrote about them extensively. While trying to understand their evolutionary history, he said  

“I care more about Drosera than the origin of all other species in the world.”  

He was even the first person to report that on average it takes Drosera 15 minutes to kill its prey. Like most other carnivorous plants their meat-eating is an adaptation for life in nutrient poor soil. Their prey is consumed not for energy but for their proteins which get broken down into nitrogen and used to fertilize the plant. Their roots are great at absorbing water but pretty much useless at sucking in nutrients. Some species don't even have the enzymes necessary to extract nitrates from the soil. Since there are so many species their morphology varies a lot most. species have flat leaves. Pink sundews which are abundant throughout Florida are one of the most common examples of this. They're easy landing spots for a myriad of insects but can also be easier to escape. Some like the north American thread leaved sundew have tube-like leaves that unfurl as they grow. The leaves are thin but they generate enough sticky juice to catch larger insects like wasps. Others such as the common sundew which can be found in northern latitudes throughout the world have almost spherical leaves. This makes it possible for them to catch prey coming from all directions. But what they all have in common is the tentacles on their leaves. They're usually red which gives the plant an alien-like appearance and have two types of glands on them. The first type secretes the sweet sticky nectar that attracts and snares insects. The second type makes the digestive juices to break down its prey's soft tissue  

Over the eons, there have been several genera of carnivorous plants that use a glue trap strategy to catch prey. What sets the sundew apart is that their tentacles fold in the direction of their prey to maximize points of contact. Upon landing the tentacles get activated and move towards the prey. The insect will struggle but soon it'll get tired and drown in the sweet nectar. In some species, this can take up to a quarter of an hour, in others just a matter of seconds. Then the digestive process begins. Some species such as the cape sundew take it even further by also folding the leaves at the same time as the tentacles to fully envelop the insect. Nobody knows for sure how they move their leaves and tentacles, or how they can tell whether it's prey or just debris. It's suspected that the movement is caused by chain reactions inside the cells to make them more acidic and make the cell walls more flexible which causes the cells to expand. So, it's a very complicated process but the results are amazing. People have been fascinated by these plants for hundreds of years and have used them as a way to treat a myriad of ailments. Their leaves are used to treat coughs and ulcers and as an aphrodisiac, though their only proven medical quality is as an expectorant. Because of their beauty and their unadulterated awesomeness, they're now also common in the ornamental plant business. The most common ones are cape sundews and spoon leaf sundews. They produce lots of seeds and require relatively little attention. It's a great beginner's Drosera. A hybrid called Drosera andromeda doesn't move at all when fed but it's a great plant for cooler conditions.  

Of course, if you decide to get a sundew or any other plant make sure you do proper research. They can be very sensitive to minerals in tap water and other external factors in your home. Or, if you'd rather see them in the wild make sure to look for them whenever you're in a swampy area. The northern east coast is home to several species. Some of them like the English sundew and the spoon leaf sundew can live across the continent from the southern US to northern Canada. 

*Information collected from YouTube Channel: Animalogic.