8 points on insectivorous plants
Answers
Explanation:
Some plants eat insects. Such plants are called insectivorous plants. They trap and digest the insects. Pitcher plant is the example of an insectivorous plant. In pitcher plant the leaf is modified to form a pitcher like structure. The bright colour of the pitcher makes it very attractive to insects. Inside the pitcher; there are several hair-like structures. These hairs direct the trapped insects downwards. When an insect sits on the pitcher of the plant, the lid closes and the insect gets trapped inside the pitcher. The insect is then digested by the enzymes secreted by the cells of the plants.
Answer:
Characteristics of Insectivorous Plants
Nitrogen Deficiency
The insectivorous plants are found in the places where there is a lack of nutrients especially nitrogen. That is why these plants entrap insects and digest them to absorb the necessary nitrogen through their leaf structures.
Attractants
The insectivorous plants are colourful and shiny in appearance. They have a pleasant odour and flavoured nectars that attracts insects. The insects approaching them are trapped and digested by the plant.
Inescapable Traps
The mouth of the insectivorous plants has hair-lined tined edges that snap shut as soon as the insect touches the hair, thereby, trapping the insect behind the tines. There are trigger hairs present on the top of the suction trap. As the insect touches the hair a flap opens and the insect is dropped in a water-sac. The flap then reseals and the insect is not allowed to escape. Some plant stalks are covered in sticky mucus-like substance where the plant sticks and cannot move.
Digestive Enzymes and Organisms
Some insectivorous plants secrete digestive enzymes that dissolve the insect for absorption. Others have bacteria or mites in their digestive tract that mimic the functions of the human digestive tract. They digest the prey for absorption by the plants.
Also read: Modes of Nutrition in Plants
Wet Site Inhabitants
The insectivorous plants are found mostly in wet, damp, humid, and acidic soil deficient in nutrients, such as swamps, bogs, wetlands, coastal plains, etc. They are found in the wet regions of North America, Australia, and tropical regions.
Types of Traps
The leaves of the plants are modified in the form of traps. The trapping mechanisms are designated as active or passive depending upon whether they move to capture the prey or not. The different types of traps are mentioned below:
Pitfall Traps: These are found in a pitcher plant. They comprise of a hollow leaf with a lid, filled with liquid to digest the prey.
Snap Traps: These type of traps are found in Venus flytrap. They shut their leaves rapidly as the prey touches the trigger hair.
Bladderwort Traps: These are commonly found in Utricularia. They use a partial vacuum to suck the small organisms.
Flypaper Traps: These traps are sticky and adhesive. The leaves are covered in stalked glands that secrete sticky mucilage.
Lobster-pot Traps: These are found in corkscrew plants. They possess downward pointing hair that pushes the prey deep inside the trap.
The insectivorous plants digest the prey chemically using enzymes and bacteria. The end products of the chemical breakdown are absorbed by the plants to help them survive under unfavourable conditions.