These amazing plants They are carnivorous because they catch insects and arthropods, secrete digestive juice, dissolve the prey, and in the process receive some or most of the nutrients. Almost all carnivorous plants grow in places where the soil is poor in nutrients.

Here are the most famous carnivorous plants that use different types traps to lure their prey.

1. Sarracenia

Sarracenia or North American insectivorous plant is a genus carnivorous plants, which are found in areas of the east coast of North America, in Texas, in the Great Lakes, in southeastern Canada, but most are found only in the southeastern states.

This plant uses water lily-shaped traps as a trap. The leaves of the plant have developed into a funnel with a hood-like formation that grows over the opening, preventing rainwater from entering, which can dilute the digestive juices. Insects are attracted to color, smell, and secretions like nectar at the edge of a water lily. The slippery surface and the drug that surrounds the nectar encourage insects to fall inward, where they die and are digested by protease and other enzymes.

2. Nepenthes

Nepenthes, a tropical insectivorous plant, is another species of carnivorous plant with a trap that uses water lily-shaped trapping leaves. There are about 130 species of these plants, which are widely distributed in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Madagascar, Seychelles, Australia, India, Borneo and Sumatra. This plant has also earned the nickname "monkey cup" as researchers often observed monkeys drinking rainwater from them.

Most types of Nepenthes are tall vines, about 10-15 meters, with a shallow root system. Leaves are often visible from the stem, with a tendril that protrudes from the tip of the leaf and is often used for climbing. At the end of the tendril, the water lily forms a small vessel, which then expands to form a cup.

The trap contains a liquid secreted by the plant, which may have a watery or sticky texture, and in which the insects eaten by the plant drown. The bottom of the bowl contains glands that absorb and distribute nutrients. Most of the plants are small and only catch insects, but large species such as Nepenthes Rafflesiana and Nepenthes Rajah can catch small mammals such as rats.

3. Carnivorous plant Genlisea (Genlisea)

Genlisea consists of 21 species, usually grows in humid terrestrial and semi-aquatic environments and is distributed in Africa and Central and South America.

Genlisea is a small herb with yellow flowers that use a crab claw-type trap. Such traps are easy to get into, but impossible to get out of because of the small hairs that grow towards the entrance or, as in this case, forward in a spiral.

These plants have two various types leaves: photosynthetic leaves above ground and special underground leaves that lure, trap and digest small organisms such as protozoa. The underground leaves also perform the role of roots, such as water absorption and attachment, since the plant itself does not have them. These underground leaves underground form hollow tubes that look like a spiral. Small microbes get into these tubes with the help of a stream of water, but cannot get out of them. By the time they get to the exit, they will already be overcooked.

4. Darlingtonia California (Darlingtonia Californica)

darlingtonia california is the only member of the genus Darlingtonia that grows in northern California and Oregon. It grows in swamps and cold springs. running water and is considered a rare plant.

Darlingtonia leaves are bulbous in shape and form a cavity with a hole under the swollen like Balloon, structure and two sharp sheets that hang down like fangs.

Unlike many carnivorous plants, it does not use trapping leaves to trap, but uses a crab claw-type trap. Once the insect is inside, they are confused by the specks of light that pass through the plant. They land in thousands of dense, fine hairs that grow inwards. Insects can follow the hairs deep into the digestive organs, but cannot go back.

5. Pemphigus (Utricularia)

Bladderwort is a genus of carnivorous plants with 220 species. They are found in fresh water or moist soil as terrestrial or aquatic species on all continents except Antarctica.

They are the only carnivorous plants that use the bubble trap. Most species have very small traps in which they can catch very small prey such as protozoa. Traps range from 0.2 mm to 1.2 cm, and larger prey, such as water fleas or tadpoles, fall into large traps.

The bubbles are under negative pressure with respect to the surrounding stop. The opening of the trap opens, sucks in the insect and surrounding water, closes the valve, and all this happens in thousandths of a second.

6. Zhiryanka (Pinguicula)

Oilwort belongs to a group of carnivorous plants that use sticky, glandular leaves to lure and digest insects. Nutrients obtained from insects supplement the soil, which is poor in minerals. There are approximately 80 species of these plants in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

The leaves of the buttercup are succulent and usually have a bright green or pink color. There are two special types of cells found on the upper side of the leaves. One is known as the peduncle and is made up of secretory cells at the top of a single stem cell. These cells produce a slimy secretion that forms visible droplets on the surface of the leaves and acts like Velcro. Other cells are called sessile glands, and they are found on the surface of the leaf, producing enzymes such as amylase, protease, and esterase, which aid in the digestive process. While many species of butterwort are carnivorous all year round, many types form a dense winter rosette that is not carnivorous. When summer comes, it blooms and has new carnivorous leaves.

7. Sundew (Drosera)

The sundew is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. Sundew can form basal or vertical rosettes from 1 cm to 1 m in height and can live up to 50 years.

Sundews are characterized by moving glandular tentacles topped with sweet, sticky secretions. When an insect lands on the sticky tentacles, the plant begins to move the rest of the tentacles in the direction of the victim in order to further drive it into a trap. Once the insect is trapped, small sessile glands absorb it and the nutrients go to plant growth.

8. Byblis

Byblis or rainbow plant it is a small species of carnivorous plant native to Australia. The rainbow plant got its name from attractive appearance slime that covers the leaves in the sun. Despite the fact that these plants are similar to sundews, they are not related to the latter in any way and are distinguished by zygomorphic flowers with five curved stamens.

Its leaves have round section, and most often they are elongated and tapered at the end. The surface of the leaves is completely covered with glandular hairs, which secrete a sticky mucous substance that serves as a trap for small insects that land on the leaves or tentacles of the plant.

9. Aldrovanda vesiculosa (Aldrovanda vesiculosa)

Aldrovanda vesicularis is a magnificent rootless, carnivorous aquatic plant. It usually feeds on small aquatic vertebrates using a trap trap.

The plant consists mainly of free-floating stems that reach 6-11 cm in length. Leaves-traps, 2-3 mm in size, grow in 5-9 curls in the center of the stem. The traps are attached to the petioles, which contain air that allows the plant to float. It is a fast growing plant and can reach 4-9mm per day and in some cases produce a new curl every day. While the plant grows at one end, the other end gradually dies.

The plant trap consists of two lobes that close like a trap. The holes of the trap are directed outward and covered with fine hairs that allow the trap to close around any prey that comes close enough. The trap closes in tens of milliseconds, which is one of the fastest movements in the animal kingdom.

10. Venus flytrap (Dionaea Muscipula)

Venus flytrap, perhaps the best-known carnivorous plant that feeds mainly on insects and arachnids. It is a small plant with 4-7 leaves that grow from a short underground stem.

The leaf blade is divided into two regions: flat, long, heart-shaped petioles capable of photosynthesis and a pair of terminal lobes hanging from the main vein of the leaf, which form a trap. The inner surface of these lobes contains a red pigment, and the edges secrete mucus.

Dionaea muscipula vs Caterpillar

The leaf lobes make a snapping motion, slamming shut when its sensory hairs are stimulated. The plant is so developed that it can distinguish a living stimulus from a non-living stimulus. Its leaves slam shut in 0.1 second. They are lined with cilia that are as hard as spikes and hold their prey. As soon as the prey is caught, the inner surface of the leaves is gradually stimulated, and the edges of the lobes grow and merge, closing the trap and creating a closed stomach, where the prey is digested.

Plants that feed on insects. Predatory representatives of the flora.

Nature never ceases to amaze us with its mysteries and surprises. It would seem that a stalk with leaves, but also carnivorous! It turns out that there is a fairly significant category of plants that live someone else's death. These are the so-called "Plutonians" - named after the mysterious lord of death and rebirth - Pluto. More common names are "carnivorous plants" and "carnivorous plants".

These plants are further proof of the mystery of evolution. For example, to survive in shady wet places, the so-called epiphytes move to live on a higher and more powerful neighbor, however, without harm to him; Predatory plants, according to scientists, evolved due to the extreme lack of nitrogen in the soil.

In total, about 500 species of predator plants are known. In the most famous "predators" - sundews, nepenthes and sarracenia - insects make up the bulk of the prey (hence the other name for these plants - insectivorous). Others - water bladderworts and aldrovands - most often catch planktonic crustaceans. There are also such "predatory" plants that feed on fry, tadpoles, or even toads and lizards. There are three groups of such insectivorous plants - these are plants with trap leaves, in which the halves of the leaves with teeth along the edge close tightly, plants with sticky leaves, in which the hairs on the leaves secrete a sticky liquid that attracts insects, and plants in which the leaves are shaped jug with a lid filled with water.

Why do plants "predation"?
The point is that everything carnivorous plants grow on poor soils, such as peat or sand. In such conditions, there is less competition among plants (few people are able to survive here), and the ability to catch live prey, break down and assimilate animal protein makes up for the deficiency. mineral nutrition. Carnivorous plants are especially numerous on moist soils, swamps and swamps, where they compensate for the lack of nitrogen at the expense of caught animals. As a rule, they are brightly colored, and this attracts insects that are used to associating bright colors with the presence of nectar.

What is characteristic of carnivorous plants?

They possess various devices to catch small animals, mainly insects and arachnids, they digest their victims with the “digestive juice” secreted by special glands and suck in the resulting nutritious gruel, thus supplementing the nitrogen they need, obtained from the soil, with nitrogen from animal tissues. Leaves are usually turned into insect trapping organs. They are covered with glue, carry sticky hairs, can be bent inward, closing like a palm gathered into a fist. The leaf can be turned into a jar with a lid, from which an insect that has entered it cannot escape.

There are reasons to believe that some cultivated plants not averse to feast on "meat" So, rainwater accumulates in the bases of pineapple leaves, and small aquatic organisms multiply there - ciliates, rotifers, worms, insect larvae. There are suspicions that pineapple is able to digest and assimilate them.

The most famous types:

Sundew

The genus Drosera (sundew) includes about 130 plant species. They live in tropical swamps, and in the long-drying soils of the Australian subtropics, and even beyond the Arctic Circle in the tundra. AT middle lane In Russia, you can meet round-leaved sundew. Usually sundews catch small insects, but some species are able to catch larger prey.
The leaves of the sundew are covered with red or bright orange hairs, each of which is topped with a shiny droplet of liquid. In tropical sundews, the leaves resemble a necklace of many hundreds of dewdrop beads sparkling in the sun. But this is a deadly necklace: attracted by the shine of the droplets, the reddish color of the leaf and its smell, the insect gets stuck in the sticky surface.
The victim's desperate attempts to free himself lead to the fact that more and more neighboring hairs are leaning towards him, and in the end he is covered with sticky mucus. The insect dies. The sundew then releases an enzyme that dissolves the prey. Only the wings, chitinous cover and other hard parts remain intact. If not one insect, but two at once, sits on a leaf, then the hairs, as it were, share their duties and cope with both.

Zhiryanka

It acts almost the same as the sundew, luring insects with sticky secretions of its long, tapering leaves, collected in a rosette. Sometimes the edges of the leaves are bent inward, and the prey in such a tray is locked. Other leaf cells then secrete digestive enzymes. After the "dish" is consumed, the leaf unfolds and is ready to act again.

Venus flytrap

The genus Dionaea includes only one species, Dioneae muscipulata, better known as the Venus flytrap. This is the only plant in which the capture of insects by the rapid movement of the trap can be observed even with the naked eye. In nature, the flycatcher is found in the swamps of North and South Carolina.
In an adult plant maximum size traps - 3 cm. Depending on the time of year, the appearance of the trap changes markedly. In summer, when there is a lot of prey, the trap is brightly colored (usually dark red) and reaches its maximum size. In winter, when there is little prey, the traps decrease in size. Along the edges of the leaf are thick spines, similar to teeth, each leaf ("jaw") is equipped with 15-20 teeth, and in the middle of the leaf there are three sentinel hairs. An insect or other creature attracted by a bright leaf cannot but touch these hairs. The collapse of the trap occurs only after a double irritation of the hairs in the range from 2 to 20 seconds. This prevents the traps from triggering when it rains.
It is no longer possible to open the trap. If the leaf misses or something inedible gets into it, it will reopen in half an hour. Otherwise, it will remain closed until it has digested the prey, which can take up to several weeks. As a rule, the leaves, before dying off and being replaced by new ones, work in this way only two or three times.

Nepenthes

The genus includes about 80 plant species from tropical rainforests. Most of them are lianas, reaching several meters, but there are also low shrubs. Nepenthes traps are adapted to capture very large prey. The largest Nepenthes can also catch small rodents, toads and even birds. However, their usual prey is insects.
Nepenthes catch prey in a completely different way than all other predatory plants. In their tubular leaves, shaped like pitchers, rainwater accumulates. In some, the tip of the leaf is folded like a funnel, through which water flows inward; in others, it is folded over and covers the opening, limiting the amount of incoming moisture to prevent overflow in heavy rains. On the outer side of the jug, two toothed wings run from top to bottom, which serve both to support the jug and to guide crawling insects. Along the inner edge of the jug are cells that secrete sweet nectar. Beneath them are many hard hairs, turned downwards, a bristly palisade that does not allow the victim to get out of the jug. The wax secreted by the cells of the smooth leaf surface of most Nepenthes makes this surface so slippery that no claws, hooks or suckers can help the victim. Once in such a jar-trap, the insect is doomed, it sinks deeper and deeper into the water - and drowns. At the bottom of the jug, the insect decomposes, and its soft parts are absorbed by the plant.
Nepenthes (pitchers) are sometimes called "hunting cups", since the liquid contained in them can be drunk: on top in a jug pure water. Of course, somewhere below are the undigested solid remains of the "dinners" of the plant. But with a certain caution, they cannot be reached, and almost every jug contains a sip or two, or even a lot more water.

Sarracenia

The genus includes 9 species from the Sarraceniaceae family. All members of the family are marsh plants. The flowers are very bright. And even non-flowering sarracenia attract attention: emerald, with a dense network of raspberry veins, trap leaves flowing with sweet juice resemble fabulous flowers. Attracted by a bright trap, insects sit on the trap and die.

Darlingtonia (Darlingtonia)- a swamp plant in North America, one of the strangest in the world: it amazes with its jugs in the form of a cobra hood, preparing for an attack (hence the other name - Cobra Plant). Insects are caught by the smell, and the hairs on the walls of the leaves provide only downward movement.

In Australia you can find Byblis Giant (Byblis gigantea), completely covered with leaves with sticky hairs and glands with a very sticky substance. It is about him that rumors still circulate as a man-eating plant. According to legends, the remains of people have been found near these plants more than once. The local natives used its leaves as super glue.

domestic predators

There is an opinion that predator plants cannot be kept at home. Indeed, they most often die after a while, however, there are types of predator plants that are most suitable for indoor conditions. This is a Venus flytrap, various sundews, medium-sized species of Nepenthes, tropical species fatwort and most types of sarracenia.

Venus flytrap is grown in coarse fibrous peat. The plant requires maximum sunlight throughout the year, and in winter, when there is not enough sunlight, the plants have to be highlighted. It is watered abundantly in the summer, it is even better to keep pots with plants a third submerged in water, using boiled or boiled water for watering. rain water. In winter, watering is reduced, but not allowed. complete drying soil. Requires high humidity air.

Growing individual hybrid species of non-penthes is not difficult, with the only caveat that they require constant high humidity to form jugs. Nepenthes are grown on soil consisting of fibrous peat and sphagnum moss or on pure sphagnum moss. The main thing is that the soil is always loose and well aerated. Water these plants should be plentiful and soft water, avoiding the slightest drying.

Many representatives of sundews are very difficult to keep in room conditions. However, some tropical species of sundews are very unpretentious and can grow in aquariums with high air humidity, as their leaves are very delicate and dry out easily in a dry room atmosphere. South African are considered the most suitable for growing indoors. sundew Drosera alicia and the American sundew Drosera capillaris (this is the hardiest sundew).

Sarracenia grow beautifully in a room without much care. The soil mixture should be loose and not nutritious: washed quartz sand, chopped sphagnum and high-moor peat (1:2:3) with the addition of pieces charcoal. Sarracenia often suffer from waterlogging, so they need good drainage. Watering - distilled or clean snow (rain) water. Optimal location for them in the apartment - a window sill, best of all under a constantly ajar window, wintering at t 10-15 ° C.

The Venus flytrap is very fond of children and adults, they put their fingers in it and watch how the small soft mouth closes. The surprising fact is that the reaction rate is only one-thirtieth of a second! This plant also knows how to play the game "edible-inedible", and if the food is suitable, then the leaf will open again only after 6-10 days. But if the leaf slammed shut in vain, then after 1-2 days the flycatcher will again go hunting.

It is the Venus flytrap that is most often bred at home and begin to feed. Caught flies are also suitable, and even small pieces of ordinary meat. Therefore, if such an exotic has settled in your house, setting the meat table, do not forget to invite your green friend to him.

Surely everyone has heard about the amazing "predator" plants that feed on various insects. Today there are about 630 of them in the world. various kinds. Insectivorous plants need this food, so they supplement their autotrophic nutrition.

To catch their "prey" carnivorous plants use different types of traps, depending on their structure. These can be traps in the form of jugs, traps, sticky, sucking, as well as traps in the form of crab claws.

AT natural conditions their habitat is swampy soils, sands and water. But some of them can be planted at home in a pot, they will not only take root, but will also become your helpers in the fight against annoying flies. In addition, this is a very interesting activity - to watch a houseplant that catches and eats flies. flies appear, and also, from them in country house we have already discussed in detail. And all about ultrasonic repellers can be read

It is best to take root species that originated from places with a temperate-cool climate. In winter, they need a temperature of 5 ° C, and in summer - a maximum of +25 ° C.

Although this plant is very beautiful in appearance, it is dangerous for small winged pests: it catches them with the help of its leaves in the form of "jugs" with a lid, inside of which there is a digestive enzyme.

You can grow nepenthes "flycatchers" in home greenhouse or in a closed aquarium, constantly airing it.

The plant feels comfortable:

at 20 °C;
in good light conditions;
at regular top dressing mineral fertilizers;
in constantly moist soil. Nepentes should be watered only with soft purified water.

Venus flytrap (Dionea)

This unusual plant is especially popular with flower growers, it will also save your home from mosquitoes and flies.

The leaflet of the Venus flytrap looks like a clam shell - two halves-folds either open or close. Along the edges of the fleshy leaves are two rows of teeth and glands that produce fragrant nectar. It also attracts flies and mosquitoes.

Flies and midges also flock to the sweet aroma of nectar. Unfortunately, one sheet "works" only a few times. However, new ones quickly grow to replace them, if you create right conditions. Sometimes it indoor plant turns into normal ordinary leaves, eventually losing its "insectivorous" function.

Growing conditions:

low temperature conditions;
high levels of air and soil humidity;
soft water for irrigation;
a lot of light.

Venus flytrap can be grown in an aquarium, constantly carrying out the ventilation procedure. It is very interesting to watch her growth and vital activity.

Growing conditions:

peat soil;
in summer - in a lit place, but not in direct sun;
in winter - at temperatures not very high.

It is worth noting that in the cold season, the plant has a period of calm and tranquility, therefore, at this time it does not need to be watered and fertilized abundantly. Reproduction of Darlingtonia occurs in the spring - by seeds and division.

Rosyanka is a species perennial herbs with root base.

How to grow at home:

you need a spacious bright room;
constant circulation of fresh air;
in winter period the temperature should not exceed 10 degrees;
abundant watering with soft water.

Sarracenia also feeds on midges and flies, which fall into long tubular leaves-traps.

In our country about given plant little is known, mainly its habitat - Western Europe usually in the open field.

At home, he is planted in a pot of sphagnum. It is necessary to ensure that the drainage in it is correct, and the soil is loose.

Home conditions:

the temperature regime in the room should be slightly lower in winter;
frequent watering with purified water;
in the summer, it is best to put it in the garden or on the balcony (preferably in the shade).

This plant propagates by seeds and rhizomes.

Genlisea has two types of leaves: those that grow above the ground and those that are under it - it is they who catch and digest small insects.

Carnivorous plants are quite widespread throughout the world. In nature, there are 450 species of similar plants, which are combined into six families. Insects form the basis of their diet, therefore carnivorous plants are often also called insectivorous.

Carnivorous plants are a miracle of nature. They are amazingly adapted to life in places characterized by a lack of nutrients in the soil. These plants have become predators! The need for survival requires them to be able to catch live prey.

Carnivorous plants obtain food in five ways. Some of them use trapping leaves, which are shaped like a jug; others are sticky traps; the following are traps such as rachevni; the fourth - sucking traps; and finally, the fifth - slamming leaves. However, it should be noted that the method of obtaining food is not tied to a particular family.

The trap itself usually works as follows: an insect that is attracted to the leaves or flowers of the plant sits on one of the leaves that have smooth surface. Slipping down, the insect drowns in the digestive juice of the plant. Over time, the plant will absorb all of it. nutrients.

Carnivorous plants have "developed" many ways to lure insects. For example, in some predatory plants, the edges of the trapping leaves are bright red, while in others, the inner walls of the leaf secrete a sugary substance that attracts insects.

The sugary liquid of Sarracenia contains an intoxicating substance. It quickly lulls the insect in the jug, which, moreover, cannot get out because of the overhanging lid - it is formed by hairs hanging down.

Any insect, once inside the jug, is doomed to death. This is not true. For example, mosquito larvae can easily live inside it, and nothing really prevents adults from flying in and out of this very jug. Some spiders even justify their dwelling in it. However, most insects are affected by enzymes that speed up the dissolution of their flesh.

Pemphigus lures the victim with the help of water. Bubbles that protrude from the leaves of this plant lure prey. The principle of operation is as follows: first, thanks to special glands, water is pumped out of the bubbles. Then the trap valve opens, dragging along with the water the trapped insect.

The Venus flytrap is a well-known carnivorous plant. Even with the naked eye, you can see how the trap of this plant slams shut, the maximum size of which is only three centimeters. This plant grows in the swamps of North and South Carolina. Each leaf of the Venus flytrap is presented in the form of a petiole and a trapping plate. The trap itself is formed by a kind of disk, on the edges of which there are nectar glands - they are necessary for the plant to attract insects to itself. The digestive glands, with which the Venus flytrap digests its prey, are located in the middle of the trap. The triggering mechanism of the trap is provided in such a way that it does not close again, for example, during rain: the trap collapses after it has been stimulated twice. If suddenly the sheet was closed "by mistake", then within the next two days it will definitely open. If the plant has caught large prey, then the leaf will be completely closed for about a week (or maybe more).

Sundew is another well-known carnivorous plant. About 130 species of this plant are known. They can be found in the Australian subtropics and tropical swamps. And some "climbed" into the tundra - they can be found even beyond the Arctic Circle. Sundew's prey is mainly small insects, but it is also able to capture larger prey. Sundew got its name due to the small droplets on the surface of the leaf. It is they that attract insects along with the bright (reddish) color of the leaf and the smell emanating from it. True, the insect has a chance to free itself before it is completely bogged down in the sticky liquid.

Representatives of the genus Nepenthes are the most powerful among carnivorous plants. Approximately 80 species are included in this genus; plants grow mainly in tropical forests with abundant moisture. Basically, these are vines, the length of which can reach several meters. Some species grow on open sunny slopes, such as low shrubs. Pitchers appear at the ends of the leaves, at first they are completely closed with a special lid, which opens a little later. Depending on the type of these predatory plants, the sizes of the jugs vary from three to forty centimeters. The color of the jars can also be different - there are green, brown, red and white colors.

Nepenthes are able to catch large prey. Separate types able to catch toads, small rodents and birds. But mostly insects are included in the diet of non-penthes. The method of obtaining food in Nepenthes is somewhat different from other carnivorous plants. The contents of the jar are protected by a lid, which also serves as a landing site for flying insects. This lid, along with the surface of the jar itself, releases a special nectar, which, together with bright color and attract prey. An insect caught here quickly falls down, since the inner surface of the jug is very slippery, and enters the liquid. Its enzymes process food.

Zhiryanki have real roots. This distinguishes them from other genera of insectivorous plants. A large number of glands are found on the upper side of the leaf of these plants. The function of some is to secrete sugary mucus - it is a trap for small insects. The task of other glands is to generate enzymes. They are essential for the digestion of food. Insects, having fallen on a leaf of a fatwort, naturally begin to move, hoping to get out. However, their movements lead to the fact that the leaf begins to curl, and the insect is processed by the mucus of the plant.

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Carnivorous plants can rightly be considered a miracle of nature. These amazing plants are real predators, they catch insects and arthropods, secrete digestive juice, dissolve the prey, and during this process receive most of the nutrients. There are quite a lot of predatory plants (about 600 species are known to science), they have special devices of one kind or another, which they use to attract and hold their victims. In addition, all of them are united by the relative poverty of the soils on which they live, as well as the bright color that attracts insects, as an association with the presence of nectar. Here are the most famous predatory plants that use different types of traps in order to lure their prey.

Sundew (Drosera) is a small insectivorous plant with leaves collected in a rosette. Sundews are characterized by moving glandular tentacles topped with sweet, sticky droplets of liquid. When an insect lands on the sticky tentacles, the plant begins to move the rest of the tentacles in the direction of the victim in order to further drive it into a trap. Once the insect is trapped, small sessile glands absorb it and the nutrients go to plant growth.

The Venus flytrap (Dionaea Muscipula) is perhaps the most famous carnivorous plant. It is a small plant that feeds mainly on insects and arachnids. The leaf lobes make a snapping motion, slamming shut when its sensory hairs are stimulated. The plant is so developed that it can distinguish a living stimulus from a non-living stimulus. Its leaves slam shut in 0.1 seconds. They are lined with cilia that are as hard as spikes and hold their prey. As soon as the prey is caught, the inner surface of the leaves is gradually stimulated, and the edges of the lobes grow and merge, closing the trap and creating a closed stomach, where the prey is digested.

Darlingtonia californica (Darlingtonia californica) - considered a rare plant, grows in swamps and springs with cold running water in northern California and Oregon.
Lily-cobra (Cobra Lily) or plant-cobra (Cobra Plant) - such popular title darlingtonia received thanks to outgrowths resembling the red twisted tongues of a snake, and indeed, the leaves resemble a cobra prepared for an attack with a loose hood. Plants attract prey to the entrance to the trapping apparatus with the help of nectar released along the "tongues" of the jug. The light passing through the window, thinning in the wall of the hood of the jug, knocks down the prey, and it falls inside, where it drowns. Bacteria and other microorganisms digest the prey and release the nutrients as a liquid.

Nepenthes, or pitcher (Nepenthes) - predatory herbaceous, bushy liana, widespread in tropical Asia, especially on the island of Kalimantan, as well as in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Madagascar, Seychelles. The plant has also earned the nickname "monkey cup" as researchers often observed monkeys drinking rainwater from them. It is a carnivorous plant with a trap that uses water lily-shaped trapping leaves. The trap contains a liquid secreted by the plant, which may have a watery or sticky texture, and in which the insects eaten by the plant drown. The bottom of the bowl contains glands that absorb and distribute nutrients. Most of the plants are small and only catch insects, but large species such as Nepenthes Rafflesiana and Nepenthes Rajah can catch small mammals such as rats, lizards, birds.

Lusitanian dewdrop (Drosophyllum lusitanicum) - or "Portuguese flycatcher", is a semi-shrub native to the Mediterranean close to sundews, emits a sweet aroma that attracts insects that get stuck in a sticky surface and die. The digesting ability of the dew-leaf is quite large: during the day, one medium-sized plant successfully copes with prey consisting of several dozen large flies and other insects.

Pinguicula is a carnivorous plant that uses sticky, glandular leaves to lure and digest insects. The leaves are succulent and usually bright green or pink in color. There are two special types of cells found on the upper side of the leaves. Some cells produce a slimy secretion that forms visible drops on the surface of the leaves and acts like Velcro. Other cells produce enzymes that aid the digestive process.

Heliamphora (Heliamphora) is an insectivorous plant that attracts attention with its elegant arrangement of leaves, rolled into rolls and resembling jugs. Urns-leaves are arranged in such a way as to avoid complete flooding of the cavity with water - in the upper part of the urn at a certain level there is a small gap for draining excess moisture. Such a mechanism is not accidental: the plant is faced with the task of drowning the prey lured to the watering hole in the water. And the heliamphora lures insects in this way: instead of a lid on the top of the jug, the tip of the leaf is transformed into a spoon, from which the heliamphora, as it were, offers to taste the nectar. The inner surface of the leaf is covered with small bristles directed downwards. They seem to specially pave the path, offering the insect to carefully descend into the bowl, holding on to the "handrails". And there is no way back and the insects turn into unfortunate drowned people.

Pemphigus (Utricularia) is a carnivorous plant that lives in fresh water or moist soil. A unique organ, the trapping vesicle, helps these plants capture and utilize prey. Bubble traps in most species are very small, so they can catch very small prey such as protozoa, while slightly larger traps catch larger prey such as water fleas or tadpoles. Each vial is provided with a hole closed by an inward-opening valve, as a result of which small aquatic animals can freely enter the inside of the vial, but cannot exit back. When they die, they serve as food for the plant.

Sarracenia is an insectivorous plant that is found in areas of the east coast of North America, and southeastern South America. This plant uses water lily-shaped traps as a trap. The leaves of the plant have developed into a funnel with a hood-like formation that grows over the opening, preventing rainwater from entering, which can dilute the digestive juices. Insects are attracted to color, smell, and secretions like nectar at the edge of a water lily. The slippery surface and the drug that surrounds the nectar encourage insects to fall inward, where they die and are digested by protease and other enzymes.

Byblis, or rainbow plant, is a small species of carnivorous plant native to Australia. The rainbow plant gets its name from the attractive slime that coats the leaves in the sun. The surface of the leaves is completely covered with glandular hairs, which secrete a sticky mucous substance that serves as a trap for small insects that land on the leaves or tentacles of the plant.