Heat sensor protects the Venus flytrap from fire

The Venus flytrap can survive in the nutrient-poor swamps of North and South Carolina because it compensates for the lack of nitrogen, phosphate and minerals by catching and eating insects. It hunts with snap traps that have ...

Woodland plant's 'fishing rod' reels in its primary pollinator

The distinctive-looking plant Arisaema urashima is a common sight in woodlands in Japan. It has a large spathe (sheath enclosing its flowers) from which hangs a long-thread like appendix (that can reach over 50cm in length) ...

How water fleas defend themselves against carnivorous plants

Water fleas are masters of adaptation. Researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and the Technical University of Darmstadt have discovered that they can defend themselves not ...

The best offense is a great defense for some carnivorous plants

Insect-eating plants have fascinated biologists for more than a century, but how plants evolved the ability to capture and consume live prey has largely remained a mystery. Now, Salk scientists, along with collaborators from ...

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