You are here:

Carnivorous Plants/carnivorous plants

Advertisement

Expert: - 4/8/2010


Question
I am a 4th grade student doing an independent study on carnivorous plants.    I need to interview an expert as part of my project.   I was wondering if you could answer these questions:
1.  When did the first carnivorous plant likely appear on earth?

2.  In your opinion,  what is the most unusual carnivorous plant?

Answer
Hello Anthony,

Thank you for informing me of the nature of your request. I would be happy to help you out.

1. I can give you a generic answer here as I do not know the exact timing of carnivorous plant evolution, however; they seem to have been around as long as any other Angiosperm, dating back to the Cretacious period. You may want to do a search for prehistoric carnivorous plants and read up on dates and evolutionary timing of such carnivory and add that into your report.

2. In my own opinion, the most unusual carnivorous plant would be all of them, but if I had to pick one above the others, I would chose the Nepenthes due to the seeming coincidence of "Man-Eating Plant" stories coinciding with the early exploration of the Borneo area where many such Nepenthes live naturally. I could see such early explorers looking up at a large Nepenthes vine with pitchers the size of gallon jugs and wondering if such plants could grow big enough to entice and "eat" a human.

Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

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.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.