• These plants are specialized in trapping insects and are popularly known as insectivorous plants.
• They are very different from normal plants in their mode of nutrition. They, however, never prey upon humans or large animals.
• Insectivorous plants can broadly be divided into active and passive types based on their method of trapping their prey.
• The active ones can close their leaf traps the moment insects land on them.
• The passive plants have a ‘pitfall’ mechanism, having some kind of jar or pitcher-like structure into which the insect slips and falls, to eventually be digested.
• The insectivorous plants often have several attractions such as brilliant colors, sweet secretions and other curios to lure their innocent victims.
• Insectivorous plants of India belong mainly to three families:

1. Droseraceae (3 species),
2. Nepenthaceae (1 species) and
3. Lentibulariaceae (36 species).

Drosera and Aldrovanda

• Drosera and Aldrovanda belong to family Droseraceae.
• Drosera or Sundew inhabit wet infertile soils or marshy places.
• Aldrovanda is a free-floating, rootless aquatic plant, the only species found in India, occurs in the salt marshes of Sunderbans, south of Calcutta. It also grows in fresh water bodies like ponds, tanks and lakes.
• Pitcher plants belong to family nepenthaceae. The members of the family are commonly known as ‘pitcher plants’ because their leaves bear jar-like structures.
• Distribution: Confined to the high rainfall hills and plateaus of north-eastern region, at altitudes ranging from 100 —1500 m, particularly in Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya.
• Utricularia ( bladderwort) and Pinguicula belong to family Lentibulariaceae.
• The Bladderworts generally inhabit freshwater wetlands and waterlogged areas. Some species are associated with moist moss covered rock surfaces, and damp soils during rains.
• Insect trapping: Utricularia in its bladders mouth, has sensitive bristles or hairs. When an insect happens to contact these hairs the door opens, carrying the insect into the bladder along with a little current of water. The door is shut when water fills the bladder, The enzymes produced by the inner wall of the bladder digest the insect.
• Medicinal Properties of Insectivorous Plants
• Drosera are capable of curdling milk, its bruised leaves are applied on blisters and used for dyeing silk.
• Nepenthes in local medicine to treat cholera patients, the liquid inside the pitcher is useful for urinary troubles, it is also used as eye drops.
• Utricularia is useful against cough, for dressing of wounds, as a remedy for urinary disease.

Le piante insettivore di solito secernono nettare o portano organi attraenti e appiccicosi

Per esempio Drosera le foglie portano tentacoli, che contengono tessuto secretorio alle loro punte. Queste secrezioni / enzimi intrappolano e digeriscono le proteine degli insetti.

Foglia di Drosera con tentacoli.

In Nepenthes, l'intera foglia è modificata per attrarre e digerire gli insetti. La lamina della foglia è modificata in una brocca. L'apice della foglia è attraente per attirare gli insetti, l'apice della foglia agisce come un coperchio e si adatta sopra la brocca dopo che un insetto è intrappolato per controllare la sua perdita. All'interno la brocca è rivestita di ghiandole digestive. Queste ghiandole secernono succhi digestivi per le proteine degli animali.

Nepenthes (brocca fogliare)

Nella Venus flytrap la foglia è colorata vivacemente per attrarre gli insetti e successivamente, quando gli insetti si avvicinano alle foglie, la lamina fogliare si piega per intrappolarli.

Venere flytrap.

La maggior parte delle piante insettivore secernono succhi digestivi per digerire le proteine animali.