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Expert: - 7/27/2009


Question
I have an 8 month old baby who is now crawling. I have a collection of carnivorous plants in a container (mainly Sarracenias and Venus Fly Traps), are these dangerous to babies?

Answer
Hello Tracy,

I do know that birds, rodents, insects, and a wide variety of pets have chewed on and eaten parts of those species leaves and have suffered no ill effects. I would surmise that there would be no worry of toxin, however; since the question of edibility of carnivorous plants has been placed on the back seat in lieu of their beauty and interesting carnivory, really the answer would be, "I am not sure." Safe bet would be to keep the pot above grabbing level of a toddler until the urge to mouth anything is past. This way the infant and the plants will remain safe.

Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

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Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

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