Droseraceae facts for kids
Quick facts for kids DroseraceaeTemporal range: Upper Cretaceous – Recent
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Core eudicots
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Droseraceae
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The Droseraceae are a super cool family of flowering plants. You might know them better as the sundew family. What makes them so special? They are all carnivorous plants! This means they catch and eat insects and other small creatures to get their food.
This amazing plant family includes some famous bug-eaters. The most well-known are the sundews (from the genus Drosera) and the even more famous Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). These plants have developed unique ways to trap their prey. Sundews use sticky stuff on their leaves, while the Venus flytrap has leaves that snap shut!
Contents
Why Plants Eat Bugs?
Most plants get all their food from the soil, sunlight, and air. But carnivorous plants like those in the Droseraceae family live in places where the soil is very poor. It often lacks important nutrients, especially nitrogen. To make up for this, these clever plants catch insects. The insects provide the extra nutrients they need to grow big and strong.
The Sticky Sundews
How Sundews Trap Prey
Sundews are named for the sparkling, sticky drops that cover their leaves. These drops look like morning dew, but they are actually a super sticky glue called mucilage. This mucilage is produced by special glands on the plant's tentacles.
When an insect lands on a sundew leaf, it gets stuck in the sticky goo. The more the insect struggles, the more it gets covered in the glue. Once the insect is trapped, the sundew's tentacles slowly bend inwards. This wraps the insect even tighter, making sure it can't escape.
Digesting the Meal
After the insect is securely trapped, the sundew releases special digestive juices. These juices break down the insect's soft parts, allowing the plant to absorb the nutrients. Once the meal is digested, the tentacles slowly uncurl, ready for the next unsuspecting bug. There are over 200 different kinds of sundews, found all over the world!
The Snapping Venus Flytrap
How the Venus Flytrap Traps Prey
The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is perhaps the most famous carnivorous plant. It has leaves that look like a clam shell, with spiky edges. Inside each "trap" are tiny trigger hairs. When an insect, like a fly or spider, touches two of these hairs within about 20 seconds, the trap snaps shut incredibly fast! It can close in less than a second.
Digesting the Meal
Once the trap closes, the spiky edges interlock, forming a cage. The plant then seals the trap and releases digestive enzymes. These enzymes break down the insect, turning it into a liquid that the plant can absorb. This digestion process can take several days. After the meal is finished, the trap reopens, ready to catch another bug. Each trap can usually catch a few insects before it dies and is replaced by a new one.
Other Droseraceae Plants
Besides sundews and Venus flytraps, the Droseraceae family also includes another interesting genus called Aldrovanda.
Waterwheel Plant (Aldrovanda)
The Aldrovanda vesiculosa, also known as the waterwheel plant, is an aquatic (water-dwelling) carnivorous plant. It floats freely in water and doesn't have roots. Like the Venus flytrap, it has snap traps, but these are much smaller and are used to catch tiny aquatic insects and larvae. It's a truly unique plant that shows how diverse carnivorous plants can be!
Images for kids
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Drosera communis
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Drosera rotundifolia
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Drosera filiformis
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Aldrovanda vesiculosa
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Dionaea muscipula
See also
In Spanish: Droseraceae para niños
