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The green kind of carnivore

Strange shapes and a specific taste for insects- these plants are true meat eaters. With their colourful and curious looks, they attract spiders and insects only to catch and eat them to satisfy their hunger.

The most famous flesh-eating plants are the venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), sundews (Drosera) pitcher plant (Nepenthes) and trumpet pitchers (Sarracenia). They all eat insects, but their haunting techniques are different. The venus flytrap uses leaves that close instantly when a fly lands on them, sundews catch their prey using tentacled leaves. The Sarracenia has leaves shaped like pitchers, trapping the insects inside. The Nepenthes also uses pitchers, suspended from the tip of the leaf.

 

There are about 500 more species of carnivorous plants, and most are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. They prefer to drink rainwater and can catch their own food. Although the plants eat insects, they won't appreciate being fed pieces of meat- they will start to rot if you do.