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Carnivorous Plants/digestion of the saracenia

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Expert: - 4/25/2007


Question
why do carnivorous plants like the sarracenia take so long do digest quite small insects?

Answer
Hello hemmant,

Actually, digestion in many creatures, plant and animal, takes quite a while. Since animals are specifically adapted to chew and break the food down, and have a greater range of enzymes to digest their food with, it takes a shorter period of time. With carnivorous plants, most do not have the ability to digest insect chitin (as a matter of fact, Nepenthes can digest chitin to some degree) so you might see the exoskeleton of the insect remain for as long as the leaf lives. In any case, Sarracenias in particular use a range of enzymes to digest the proteins in the insect's body, proteins taking a long time to digest even for humans, and then use bacterial activity to aid in further breaking down the insect to release nitrogen and potassium along with other nutrients. This process takes so long as it is a multistage activity and the amount of nutrient required by the plant is quite low, so the entire insect might not even be needed all at once. Humans, by comparison, require constant energy to move, so digest more quickly and efficiently to provide that energy. In addition, some Sarracenias use primarily bacterial decay to digest their insect prey, and such decay takes a long time to occur. Bacteria are very small, so can only do so much digesting themselves.

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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