Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-18
PLANTS THAT EAT FLESH.
Woe Betide the Insect That Comes
Within Their GRASP
From the Scientific American.

From the Scientific American.
However anomalous the idea of Towering
animals may appear. it is not more so than
IS that of plants that set traps and devour
the prey taken by them. FIesh-eating
plants seem to violate the rules of nature.
yet the violation is apparent rather than
real, for many Plants absorb animal mat
ter as part OF their food. In general this
Is taken in only after decomposition has
rendered the tissues soluble, but there are
some bloodthirsty plants that kill and eat
small animals as ruth.essly as do beasts OF
prey.
Among these the little sun-dew is most
widely known. for its fame was spread over
the word by the work of Darwin. who
gave an elaborate description of il in his
''Insectivorous Plants" The leaves of the
sun-dew are studded with little projections
on whose surrTits drops of a clear
sticky liquid that glistens in the SUM- "a does
dew. and from this the name is derived
The liquid attracts insects. either by It's
appearance or Its odor; but when the I'M
fortunate visitor seeks to sip the tempting
draught the leaf begins TO coil inward and
form cup from which escape IS impos-
sib.e- The liquor runs down into the hol-
low and collects into a pool In which the
insect is drowned before being digested.
In the neighborhood of Wilmington there
grows the North Carolina fy-catcher'' a
plant that Linnaeus called "the miracle of
nature" This pant has leaves divided
into two lobes that sit at little less than
a right angle to one another and are
fringed with tiny spikes. The upper side
of each lobe Is covered with minute glands
that secrete purple fluid. and also has a
number of sensitive filaments arranged in
q triangle. If an insect touch these fila
ments. the lobes shut up like the leaves of
book. the two parts turning ON the mid
rib as a hinge, and the intruder is captur-
ed. If 1t be very small it can escape
through the spaces between the inter,ock-
ing spikes, but otherwise the ,eaf forms
itself into q temporary stomach In which
digestion proceeds. The glands that were
dry before begin to secrete an acid LIQUID
of purple color. containing an engine
like pepSin, In which the soft parts of The
victim are disntegrated and as this pro-
ceeds the pressure Is increased until all of
the digestib!e matter is absorbed when
the leaf gradually opens and the dry husk
is extruded. The leaf will close on a bit
OF glass; or stone as readily as on fly. but
the fraud is quickly discovered and the in
digestible matter rejected. The leaf Is
then ready to close again, even before 1t is
fully opened, whereas when digesting food
material It stays closed for several days
and is very sluggish In shutting again. The
most vigorous leaves seem to be abe to
digest only two three times in life
time, and the botanist Lindsay fed some
specimens with such Quantities of meat
that they died from indigestion.
In Portugal there Is a plant, known as
the Drosophyllum lusitanicum among bot
anists. that is Efficient a fly catchar
that the country people hang up branches
OF II for this purpose. Ii secreteS a gum
my. sticky fluid that entangles insects and
kills them.
The common badderwort Is foe to
many small animals. 1t captures great
numbers of water bugs. and has been
known to catch and kill smai. fishes. From
time to time the attention Of fish cultur-
lists Is called to this pant as foe but 1t
Is not regarded as serious one