Here are a few of the different types of carnivorous plants out there.

1. Beastly Plants
By, Michaela Bryant

2. So deceiving!
• One of the most universal pleasures in the world
is the joy of something beautiful. Whether it’s a
handsome Greek sculpture, or a glimpse of the
magnificently blue ocean, everyone loves
something glorious. However, sometimes
something that’s beautiful can be deadly. For
example, some of the world’s most breathtaking
plant life is extremely poisonous, and instead of
using photosynthesis to produce its food like most
of us would guess, it traps and eats its own prey
like a carnivorous beast. The world of carnivorous
plants is a great example of not judging the book
by its cover!

3. ~Monkey Cups~
• This strange plant, which
inhabits Australia and
Southeast Asia, forms a
large pitcher or cup that
hangs from it. At first, this
contraption looks like a
normal leaf, however as it
matures it forms a tendril at
its tip, and then the tip of the
tendril forms this amazing
pitcher. Once the plant is
armed with its fluid-filled
pitcher, it lures its pray in
with nectar-smelling odor
and the intriguing red
coloration.

4. ~Venus Fly Trap~
• This hunter doesn’t use a pitcher to capture its prey, but uses a “snap
trap”. This spring-loaded insect catcher is native to the bogs in the
central southeaster coastal plains of the United States. The Venus
flytrap has two leaf-made “jaws” that are lined with hair-like “teeth”.
Once an insect lands on it and walks across these hairs, touching two
or more of them in a row, the leaf closes quick enough so that the
helpless insect cannot escape.

5. ~Sundew~
• The sundews, so named
because their glandular
leaf hairs glisten like
dew when the sun
shines on them, are
found in bogs, as well as
sandy banks and other
mineral soils that are
poor in organic nitrogen
and phosphorus. These
plants trap their dinner
pretty close to the same
way that glue traps work
in your basement.

6. Plants can be extremely beautiful pieces of
landscape; and as we all know people, as well as
insects, love things that are beautiful. The next
time that you see a pretty flower maybe you’ll
see a lady bug drowning in its liquid-filled
pitcher, or struggling to escape from its sticky
hairs! No, you never want to judge a flower off
its petals!