Report by Amey Haldankar
Delhi, Aug 11: Scientists were aware of 11 types of carnivorous plants. In a recent discovery, a 12th type of carnivorous plant has been discovered.
The plant, found in western North America (from California to Alaska), was known to botanists. What was not known was that the plant is carnivorous.
False Asphodel (Triantha occidentalis) is a flowering plant. It has beautiful, luminous, white flowers. The plant mainly feeds on small insects like ants and flies. Like most carnivorous plants, it has a sticky gel that traps tiny insects. But the gel is too weak to trap bees and butterflies. So, bees and butterflies help pollinate this flower and can fly in and out without getting trapped.
How it grows
This plant begins budding in May. Its flowering season begins in June and ends in July. By the beginning of Fall, they produce their seeds for reproduction and wither away.
Who discovered this
Botanist Qianshi Lin, who is a student of University of British Columbia is credited for the discovery of this carnivore species. After noticing sticky traps which are also visible in insectivorous plants (plants feeding on insects), Lin got curious. He started researching how the plant feeds itself and eventually came across a new process through which a plant can become carnivorous.
Lin also did another experiment: He fed fruit flies a special type of nitrogen that could be tracked. He then stuck the flies to the stem of the plant. Later, he tested the plant to see if it had digested the fruit flies. In that case, the special nitrogen would be found in the plant. This special nitrogen was found in the plants, proving that the plants do digest insects.
How it ingests and digests its food
Small insects get trapped on sticky hair present on its long flowering stem. After this, digestive enzymes are released which allow the plant to suck nutrition from the food.
