Translations:Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Nature/Bogs & Fens/10/en

8. What are carnivorous plants and what makes them bog specific? Name and describe at least two of them.

Carnivorous plants trap animal prey (insects) to make up for the loss of nutrients they cannot obtain from the environment. The traps are modified leaves and may be “active” or “passive” depending on how they catch their prey.

Pitcher Plant (Passive)

Pitcher Plant at Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge

These plants form a slippery, colorful cupped leaf, and have a nectar-covered lip to lure insects. When an insect slips and falls in, it is trapped by downward pointing, sharp hairs. It is slowly dissolved in the liquid in the bottom of the cup. There are some insects that thrive in the pitcher plants by having an anti-enzyme that prevents them from being digested by the plant.