Pitcher plant: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Pitcher_plant_diagram.png|thumb|right|300px|Pitcher of ''[[Nepenthes distillatoria]]''. '''A:''' Honey-gland from attractive surface of lid. '''B:''' Digestive gland from interior of pitcher, in pocket-like depression of epidermis, opening downwards. '''C:''' Traverse section same.]] |
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'''Pitcher plants''' are [[carnivorous plant]]s whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with [[liquid]] known as a '''pitfall trap'''. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with [[natural selection|selection]] pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over [[evolution|evolutionary]] time. However, some pitcher plant [[genera]] (such as ''[[Nepenthes]]'') are placed within [[cladistics|clades]] consisting mostly of flypaper traps: this indicates that this view may be too simplistic, and some pitchers may have evolved from flypaper traps by loss of [[mucilage]]. |
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Whatever their evolutionary origins, foraging, flying or crawling [[insect]]s such as flies are attracted to the cavity formed by the cupped leaf, often by visual lures such as [[anthocyanin]] pigments, and [[nectar]] bribes. The sides of the pitcher are slippery and may be grooved in such a way so as to ensure that the insects cannot climb out. The small bodies of liquid contained within the pitcher traps are called [[phytotelmata]]. They drown the insect, and the body of it is gradually dissolved. This may occur by bacterial action (the bacteria being washed into the pitcher by rainfall) or by [[enzyme]]s secreted by the plant itself. Furthermore, some pitcher plants contain [[mutualism|mutualistic]] insect [[larva|larvae]], which feed on trapped prey, and whose [[excreta]] the plant absorbs. Whatever the mechanism of digestion, the prey items are converted into a solution of [[amino acid]]s, [[peptide]]s, [[phosphate]]s, [[ammonium]] and [[urea]], from which the plant obtains its mineral nutrition (particularly [[nitrogen]] and [[phosphorus]]). Like all carnivorous plants, they occur in locations where the [[soil]] is too poor in minerals and/or too acidic for most plants to be able to grow. |
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==Types of pitcher plants== |
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[[Image:Nepenthes_muluensis.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Nepenthes]]'' pitchers hang from tendrils]] |
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The families [[Nepenthaceae]] and [[Sarraceniaceae]] are the best-known and most speciose groups of pitcher plants. |
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The Nepenthaceae contains a single [[genus]], ''[[Nepenthes]]'', containing about 100 species and numerous hybrids and cultivars. In these [[Old World]] pitcher plants, the pitchers are borne at the end of [[tendril]]s that extend from the [[midrib]] of an otherwise unexceptional leaf. The plants themselves are often climbers, accessing the [[canopy_(forest)|canopy]] of their [[habitat (ecology)|habitats]] using the aforementioned tendrils, although others are found on the ground in forest clearings, or as [[epiphyte]]s on trees. |
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[[Image:kew.gardens.pitcher.plant.sarracenia.arp.jpg|thumb|left|North American Pitcher plants belong to the genus ''[[Sarracenia]]'' and form upright, tubular leaves]] |
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[[Image:Darlingtonia_californica_ne8.JPG|thumb|right|Cobra lilies (''[[Darlingtonia californica]]'') use window-like aeriolae to lure insects into their hollow leaves]] |
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In contrast, the [[New World]] pitcher plants (Sarraceniaceae), which comprise three genera, are ground-dwelling herbs whose pitchers arise from a horizontal [[rhizome]]. In this family, the entire leaf forms the pitcher, whereas in the Nepenthaceae, the pitcher arises from the terminal portion of the leaf. The species of ''[[Heliamphora]]'', which are popularly known as marsh pitchers (or erroneously as sun pitchers), have a simple rolled-leaf pitcher, at the tip of which is a spoon-like structure that secretes nectar. They are restricted to areas of high rainfall in [[South America]]. The [[North America]]n genus ''[[Sarracenia]]'' are the trumpet pitchers, which have a more complex trap than ''Heliamphora'', with an [[Operculum (Botany)|operculum]], which prevents excess accumulation of rainwater in most of the species. The single species in the [[California]]n genus ''[[Darlingtonia (Sarraceniaceae)|Darlingtonia]]'' is popularly known as the cobra plant, due to its possession of an inflated 'lid' with elegant false-exits, and a forked 'tongue', which serves to ferry ants and other prey to the entrance of the pitcher. The species in the genus ''Sarracenia'' readily hybridise, making their classification a complex matter. |
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[[Image:Cephalotus follicularis001.jpg|thumb|left|The Albany Pitcher Plant is the only member of the Australian genus ''[[Cephalotus]]'']] |
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There are two other genera of pitcher plants, but both contain just one or two carnivorous species. |
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The [[Cephalotaceae]] is a monotypic family with but one genus and species, ''[[Cephalotus|Cephalotus follicularis]]''. This species has a small (2 to 5 cm) pitcher similar in form to those of ''Nepenthes''. It occurs in only one location in southwestern [[Australia]]. |
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A few species of bromeliads ([[Bromeliaceae]]), such as ''[[Brocchinia reducta]]'' and ''[[Catopsis berteroniana]]'' are known or suspected to be carnivorous. Bromeliads are [[Monocotyledon|monocots]], and given that they all naturally collect water where their leaves meet each other, and that many collect detritus, it is not surprising that a few should have been [[natural selection|naturally selected]] to develop the habit into carnivory by the addition of [[wax]] and downward-pointing [[hair]]s. |
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The Purple pitcher plant, ''[[Sarracenia purpurea]]'', is the floral emblem of the province of [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], [[Canada]]. |
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==External links== |
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* [http://www.wistuba.com/ Website of Andreas Wistuba, botanist and collector specialising in pitcher plants] |
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{{Commons|Pitcher (plant)}} |
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{{1911|article=Pitcher Plants}} |
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[[Category:Carnivorous plants]] |
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[[bn:কলসী উদ্ভিদ]] |
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[[nl:Bekerplant]] |
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[[de:Schlauchpflanze]] |
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Revision as of 17:11, 25 September 2007
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