Image used with permission of Jeremiah Harris of the Colorado Carnivorous Plant Society (CCPS).
Carnirvorous plants perform little to no photosynthesis, instead, they rely on other methods to obtain the nutrients necessary to sustain themselves. While most of us have heard of the Venus Fly Trap, there are many different varieties of carnivorous plants.
Some methods employed by these plants include:
- Pitfall traps
- Flypaper
- Snap traps
- Suction traps
- Lobster-pot
Image used with permission of Jeremiah Harris of the CCPS.
Use the links below to research these various methods.
Part I. Choose one method of plant carnivore and describe, in a well written essay of 300-500 words: A) how it feeds, B) what is looks like, and C) why you think it is either the best, the most horrific, or most intriguing.
Carnivorous Plants botany.org Carnivorous Plants & The Fast-Moving Sensitive Plant
Venus Fly Trap in Action International Carnivorous Plant Society
Types of Carnivorous Plants Colorado Carnivorous Plant Society
Map of Life: Carnivorous Plants Carnivorous Plants and Their Prey, Pollinators, and Peculiar Partners
Part 2: Make up your own alternative method a plant could employ in carnivory. In a well written essay of 400-600 words, describe the technique. You must explain: 1) in what type of environment it would live, 2) what it would consume, 3) how it would feed (ensnare and digest), and 4) what it would look like. If you choose you can sketch what such a plant would look like.
Rubric for grading:
20 points for description of real carnivorous plant (10 points for including details on mechanisms it uses to each, 5 for explaining why you chose that plant, 5 for spelling/grammar/punctuation/citations)
No points will be given for a plagiarized paper or a paper that is less than 90% original writing.
20 points for your made up plant (7 for originality and creativity; 7 for description of believeable eating mechanism; 6 for spelling/grammar/punctuation)
Link for APA citations to credit your sources Link for video on Plagiarism and how to avoid it.
