Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-10-01
Piratical Plants.

HE D903iUd, or venus fly-lfap, ana
the DFoserd, or Sundew, are not the only
members of the vegetable kingdom man
ifesting unnatural, bloodthirsty instincts.
The Pitcher plants are Table to the same
strange accusation. One family of these
curious insect-eaters, the SdyraceRtdceR,
lives among the boys of North America,
with the exception of single stray
species, the Hetidmphord nat0ns, which
dwells amid the mountains of Guiana.
The family is small, including but three
genera and less than half-score species.
In its early development the outer edges
of the leaf Of the Sarracenads grow to-
gether, forming a complete tube or vase,
more or less trumpet-shaped according
to the species. On the inside of the
tube, from the mouth nearly to the base,
there is growth of short, stiff, retrorse
hairs, which are velvety to the touch
rubbed downward, but pressed the other
way are rough as jungle of thistles.
The tubes, when in a vigorous state,
generally contain water, a part of which
is sometimes caught from rain, and the
rest is secreted by the plant.
These tubes are cunning and deadly
| traps, beguiling thirsty insects TO drink
| the beverage they present, and booming
| them TO a certain death when once they
have ventured over the smooth, down
| ward path to the edge of the water, alias
| the haunt of destruction. Having slaked
| its thirst, the insect tries TO retrace its
steps; but the hairs along which il trav-
| eled with ease in approaching the liquid
now present their thick and serried
points, like so many pixies, to oppose its
progress, and, amazed, bewildered, BAT.
fled, the luckless victim falls back after
an exhaustive series Of fruitless efforts
TO escape, and is drowned In the Circean
cup from which IL so innoCently and
gratefully drank.
Insects of all orders-ants, katydids,
locusts, crickets, cockroaChcs, flies, moths
and butterfiies-are drowned in hosts in
these treacherous pitchers; yet in only q
single instance has the nectar-loving
bee' been found among the mass of dead
and decaying bodies fished out of their
waters by the naturalists who have made
a study of the plants and their prey
Prof. Riley, State Entomologist of Mis-
souri,, relates that on one occasion he
found in a pitcher the remains of bon
thus and again the cold corpse of a
honey bee.
As the Pitcher plants grow only in wet
places they cannot need the liquid held
in their leaves for the simple uses Of
water The curious circumstance of
their being supplied with an extra APP
pendage for containing the fluid can only
be explained by the hypothesis that the
decomposing bodies OF the insects
drowned in IL furnish them with liquid
manure which is essential to their exist
ence. The fact that the plants do not
thrive when secluded from insects tends
to substantiate the hypothesis, which is
accepted as nearly proven by the bota-
nists of the day.
A still more curious family of Pitcher
plants than the Sarraceniads Of America
is the Nepenthdcee of the Indian Archi.
pelago. The Nepenthes are woody
climbers, with leaves tapering into
tendril which bears at the end pitcher
OF varying size and form. They reach
their greatest development in the island
of Borneo. Wallace says in his history
of the Malay Archipelago: Every noun
tain-top abounds with them, running
along the ground, or climbing over shrubs
and stuntcd trses--their elegant pitchers
hanging in every direction. Some of
these are long and slender, resembling in
form the beautiful Philippine lace-sponge
(EupleetelLa), which has now become so
common; OtnerB are DrOaQ ana snort.
Their colors are green, variously tinted
and notified with red or purple The
finest yet known were obtained on the
summit of Kahn balon, in Northwest
Borneo. One Of the broad sort (Nepehthes
rojah) will hold two quarts Of water in its
pitcher. Another (Nepenthes Fdpord-
stanta) has narrow pitcher, twenty
inches long, while the plant itself grows
to the length Of twenty feet"
While among the mountains with his
native attendants, Mr.. Wallace one day
grew distressingly thirsty where no water
was at hand At last he turned to the
Pitcher plants, the liquid in which was
full of drowned insects and otherwise
repulsive. But, on tasting 1t, he found
1t very palatable, and the whole party
gladly quenched their thirst at these nat
ural fountains. The Indians and the
monkeys who dwell In the regions in
habited by the Nepenthes are in the
habit Of drinking from the pitchers when
ever, in their trips at q distance from
water, they find need of moistening
their parched tongues. DIR. Turner, ex-
Sn;~ T.