Schoen: Plant Adaptations for a Specific Environment

 Venus Flytrap

Dionaea muscipula

Location: 42^o15’50.96”N, 71^o45’57.83”W

Venus Flytraps are carnivorous plants native to a few select boggy areas in North and South Carolina and have been able to adapt to their nutrient-lacking environments. Living in very poor soil, they gather small amounts of nutrients from gases in the air and nutrients in the soil; however, to survive they must also get nutrients from insects. The leaves of a Venus Flytrap open wide and contain short, stiff hairs called trigger or sensitive hairs. When anything touches these hairs enough to bend them, the two lobes of the leaves snap shut and trap whatever is inside. When the trap closes over food, the cilia keep larger insects inside, while digestive enzymes break down the inner parts of the prey so the plant can receive the sufficient nutrients it needs to survive.

Tropical Pitcher Plant

Nepenthes alata

Location: 42^o15’50.96”N, 71^o45’57.83”W

Also being carnivorous, Tropical Pitcher Plants usually hang low to the ground off of other plants in the canopy of tropical forests. These environments contain little available nitrogen, which the plant absolutely needs to thrive. These Pitcher Plants have adapted by digesting insects to obtain sufficient nutrients. Their leaves are folded like a cup, forming a pitfall trap with a slippery pool of water at the bottom. When an insect falls in, a flaky wax prevents the insect from crawling out, while its struggle in the water triggers a release of digestive enzymes. This breaks down the plant’s pray into the nitrogen and other nutrients it requires.