Tropical Pitcher Plants | An Introduction To The Wonderful Nepenthes Part One
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Transcript of Tropical Pitcher Plants | An Introduction To The Wonderful Nepenthes Part One
TROPICAL PITCHER PLANTS
An Introduction To The Wonderful Nepenthes
PART ONE
By: Christy Suzuki, RN
What Are Tropical Pitcher Plants ?
Nepenthes A.K.A. Pitcher plants are another form of
carnivorous plants; mainly found in
southeast Asia.
Why Are They Called Nepenthes?
According to Peter D’amato, This plant was
coined “Nepenthe” in 1737 after Carl
Linnaeus, a botanist, found referred the fluid liquid in the pitcher as
the narcotic called Nepenthe. Nepenthe was given to grieving
soldiers to help alleviate their pain during
Homer’s The Odyssey.
Basic External Anatomy
Function Of The Lid
The lid, for the most part, has 3 functions:
1- Umbrella
2- Landing Platform
3- Capturing Bait
Function Of The Lid
UMBRELLA:
Most lids help keep rain water
out of the pitcher.
This prevents the pitcher plant’s
digestive fluid from being diluted.
Function Of The Lid
LANDING PLATFORM:
The outer part of the lid serves as a nice flat landing place for little flying creatures visiting to munch on
some of the Nepenthe’s nectar.
Function Of The Lid
CAPTURING BAIT:
There are nectar glands on the
outer surface of the lid, and even
more nectar glands on the inner
side of the lid.
Function Of The Rim
The Peristome (rim) of the pitcher
plant has very large nectar
glands located on the inner end of
the rim.
Function Of The Rim
The nectar located at the inner edge of the rim will lure the pitcher plant’s prey
inside the pitcher plant.
Function Of The Rim
Once the bug loses his balance, he will fall into the pitcher plant and will try to
get back out.
Function Of The Wings
The wings help guide crawling creatures up into
the pitcher.
Some people call this part the “ladder”.
Nepenthes that reside closer to the ground and base of the plant have
larger wings than nepenthes that are higher and farther away from the base of the plant.
Part TwoComing Next Month