A Pitcher plant wasn’t tempted but a Venus Flytrap quickly snapped shut on the insect!
The Landford centre’s display includes plants using all five basic trapping mechanisms:
• Pitfall traps (Pitcher plants) which trap prey in a rolled leaf that contains a pool of enzymes or bacteria which digest the insect,
• Flypaper traps using a sticky substance to catch insects,
• Snap traps that catch flies with rapid leaf movements,
• Bladder traps that suck in prey,
• Lobster-pot traps which force prey to move towards an area with inward-pointing hairs which stop the insect escaping.
Carnivorous plants supplement their nutrients from trapping and consuming fauna, typically insects. They grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, such as acidic bogs and rock outcroppings.The display is touring all four of the group’s garden centres at Landford, West Parley, Cadnam and Three Legged Cross.
www.golden-acres-nursery.co.uk Photography by Phil Dowding
