The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-07-13
TWO WiLDFLoWERs.
Specimens of the Sundew and the Blood
root Found in This Vicinity Recently
The Former Captures and Eats Small
Insects-The Latter's B1ood-red Sap
Flows Away Like Animal Blood.

Insects-The Latter's Blood-red Sap
Flows Away Like Animal Blood.
Did you ever see the queer little plant
called Sundew that captures and ac-
tually eats small insects? $40 be exact
and scientific, we should cali it the
Droserarouundifolia," which means the
Round-leaved Sundew. 1t grows in this
vicinity. There is place in an upland
Fl cid on Great Chebeague Island where
it may ne found. Also there are places
over on the Cape where it has been
found
This specimen that the writer has in
possession was found on Great Chebea-
que. the other day. The leaves all
spring from the root and spread out in
rosette close to the ground. There
was no blossom on this specimen, and
in fact the blossom is of very little in
terest compared to the leaves. They are
oblong in shape and about the size of
ones finger nail. They are reddish on
the outside and greenish on the inside.
They are thick and f1eshy like cactus
leaf. They are fringed and covered on
the inside with tiny hairs, which bear
viscid glands at their extremlties, from
which tiny drop of colorless, sticky
| liquid exudes, which causes the leaves
to glisten in the sun like dew. Hence
| the name.
But woe to the little insect that comes
into contact with them. They immedi-
ately contract and fold about it and
stick to it like grim death.
In one of the leaves OF the specimen
before US a tiny beetle has thus been
captured. The leaf is the size of ones
little fiugernail. The beetle is about
twice as large as the head of pin. The
clinging hairs have closed around it on
all sides and hold it.fast.
There is another prisoner in this same
plant. The leaf has curled around il
and has apparently partially absorbed
it, for its. shape is not so clearly defined
as that of the beetle. tie was evidently
similar to mosquito or nudge.
| 1t has been proved that these leaves
| actually absorb the nutritlve element
| from the insects and digest it.
| 1t is rather horri BILE when you stop to
think of it. Imagine living horse or
dog or human being held by the awful
tenacles of giant devil-fsh and slowly
absorbed through sticky, sucking
glands. No human savagery ever de-
vised torture equal to that.
| But the beetle and the gnat don't
suffer, you say, Perhaps they don't,
but who can positively prove that they
don't.
| The sundew and The pitcher plant are
| probably the only "insectivorous" plan is
| in Maine Another curious plant was
| found in Deering the other day. 1t was
q specimen of the blood-root, that pref
ty little poisoning plant that has a
| blood-red sap that flows forth the in
slant the stem is broken, just as real
blood would from an artery, until the
plant is empty and dies.
| The lady who found this specimen in
| the forest grove back OF her house is
something of botanist and knows that
| it is very rare in Deering, that she has
never found it there and that specimens
used to be found near Pride's bridge on
the Presumpscot. She explains the ap-
| pearance of this specimen as follows:
Two years ago she brought home from
| Massachusetts,, where the blood-root is
common, a number of maiden hair ferns
| She set them out at home between the
roots of a great oak. There was some
of the native earth with them, of
| course. The ferns did not grow. but
! this summer she found the blood-root
| in the same place. The seed must have
come from Massachusetts,. She plucked
the odd partially opened blossom, still
wrapped in the large leaf, and the bloody
sap ran from the stem over her fingers.
She put it in water. but it did not retain
its life, as other flowers do but wilted
and died Immediately.
| If you would like to know all about
these flowers and many more and possess
plates of them in their natural colors.
| the wild Flowers of America" can be
obtained with the PRESS coupons as
| per our ad vertisement.
Union Pacific.