Carnivorous Plants #1: Sundews

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Sundews are pretty amazing plants that are able to eat insects. They actually get most of their nutrients from feeding off insects as their roots are mainly for water absorption and to anchor themselves. They grow in many different climates and habitat but are mostly found in bogs, marshes and river banks where there is a lot of moisture most of the time, they also grow in soil with low nutrient value.

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Sundews attract insects by secreting a goo that is sweet and really sticky. Once the insect gets stuck, the tentacles that have the gooey tips secrete digestive enzymes to digest the insect. The sundew is able to move its tentacles and tries to get as many in contact with the insect as possible, some species are able to even fold their leaves to get more tentacles on its prey.

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Sundews have small, five petaled flowers (mostly) that grow on a very tall stalk. The flowers come in commonly in white and pink in small clusters that bloom one at a time in most instances. They self pollinate as well as attract insects for pollination. Each flower produces a lot of tiny seeds that can be blown around in the wind.

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