Do you know about carnivorous plants? 🌱

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Speaker 1: I'd like to say especial thank you to Joel and Ruth for this week's questions about carnivorous plants. I would also like to thank James, Jay, Stephen, Elsie, druva Ivy and Jonah for sending in questions for our next episodes of sleep type Science. You're listening to sleep Tight Science. Did you know the provincial flower of the Province of Newfoundland here in Canada is a carnival bors purple pitcher plant? What? How cool is that? What are the different types of carnivorous plants? There are actually about six hundred and thirty different kinds of carnivorous plants that can be found all over the world except in Antarctica. Carnivorous plants are classified or divided up into three basic groups. These groups are active traps, semiactive traps, and passive traps. Active trap carnivorous plants are like the venus fly trap, which is probably the most well known of these carnivorous plants. Its traps look kind of like clamshells and are held open at an angle of about forty five degrees. The shells have lots of hairs and small nectar glands. Something that lets out the liquid on them. When the prey is inside the trap, it will slam shut and lock the prey inside. Then there is a second step that actually seals the trap closed as it pushes itself closer together. It might take three to five days to digest or eat the insect it's caught, depending on the side. The semiact of trap carnivorous plants are those such as sundews or butterworts. The sundews are very beautiful plants with nice red and green colors that glisten or sparkle in the sun. Their leaves are flat, with lots of tentacles or glands on their top surface. The butterwarts form a rosette shaped plant with thin, long leaves that are often curled at the edges. The butterwarts look a lot like all of the other plants growing around them, except during the flowering season. Butterwarts capture or catch their prey with a fly paper like method, using their sticky, greasy leaves. Passive trap carnivorous plants include pitcher plants. They have a very fancy tube shaped tract, usually topped with a kind of hood. They are usually brightly colored and sometimes give off a very sweet smell. When the insects smell this smell, they get a bit confused and often fall right into the tube and get eaten. How do carnivorous plants get their nutrients? Great question? Because the soil that most carnivorous plants grow in is very thin and doesn't have very many nutrients. These plants must find another way to get the nutrients they need to survive, trapping and eating insects lets These plants survive once they have caught or trapped the insect. They use enzymes to take the nutrients they need from the insect. Enzymes are a special type of protein that help to break down the body of the cot insect so the carnivorous plant can get the nutrients it needs. They usually trap gnats, flies, bees, moths, beetles, and ants. However, animals such as frogs and small rodents or mice have been found in their traps. How are they different to normal ponts? Carnivorous plants are different from other plants partly because of where they are found and the way they get their nutrients. They are usually found in boggy swampy areas, where the nutrients in the soil are very low because of too much water, not enough oxygen, and acidic conditions, meaning the soil is not good for releasing nutrients. So therefore they rely on the insects for their nutrients. How do carnivorous plants load their food. Carnivorous plants use a number of different ways to lure their food. One is color. Some of these plants use color patterns that might only be able to be seen by the insect they are trying to catch. Sometimes hairs are also used to guide the innct into the trap. Smell or scent is another way they might lure their prey. Some of the plants give off a honey scent or a fungal earthy odor. Nectar is another way that plants lure their prey. The nectar is produced by the carnivorous plant and allows the prey or insect one last treat before it becomes dinner. So carnivorous plants really aren't as scary as we sometimes see in the movies. They are simply plants that have adapted or changed to be able to survive in the area where they live. They need to eat insects in order to get the nutrients that they need to survive. Fun facts about carnivorous plants. When the venus flytrap's mouth is closed, it is sealed air tight. This helps to keep out bacteria. Aquatic bladderworts are the fastest carnivorous plants. When passing prey trip, the bladder's trigger hairs, the trap door opens so quickly that the change in pressure sucks the prey inside. The oldest carnivorous plant leaf fossil was found in Baltic amber that's thirty five million to forty seven million years old. Venus fly traps and other carnivorous plants have the ability to count. We have found of In a recent study, it was found that meat eating plants can count to at least five. When the common wooly bat is looking for a place to rest, it snuggles up inside a picture plant's picture shaped trap. The bat gets a place to sleep and its poop gives the picture plant much needed nutrients. Thank you for listening to this episode of sleep Tight Science, where we investigate the questions you have about anything science related. Our podcasts arts with a question like did you know, and throughout that episode we will try to answer the question. If you have a question or there is something you would like to know more about, send us your questions or comments at hello at sleep tightescience dot com. I look forward to hearing from you soon