Pitcher Plant
By
Firbird
Have you ever herd of a pitcher plant eating a monkey? This paper is about pitcher plants, also called Sarracenia purpurea. It will discuss parts or the pitcher plant and how they work,how they attract their prey and medical uses. The pitcher plant is a member of the milkweed family. Pitcher plants live in bogs, swamps, wet or sandy meadows and where the ground is acidic and water saturated. The pitcher plant eats insects and small mammals like rodents, the bigger pitcher plants called monkey cups are known to eat small monkeys. Some insects live in the trap of the pitcher plant like mosquitoes and a type of crab spider living off the trapped pray of the pitcher plant.
The rhizomes of the pitcher plant can live under ground for 20-30 years. The rhizomes is the part of the plant the leaves come from. The leaves are used to catch water and put it in the pitcher. Pitchers are a long narrow vessel or a pot belly trap. The hood and neck have little or no color so it makes light shine into the plant comforting? the prey to walk into the pitcher. Insects that are down in the pitcher and try to fly out sometimes hit the hood and then the insect will fall back down. The rim of the pitcher plant is waxy and some even have loose wax to stick to the preys feet making it even harder to walk. Inside the pitcher, after the waxy part, are stiff hairs that make it hard to get a good footing and make the insect unable to walk back up. After the hairs, the sides of the plant becomes a waxy, slick surface. The prey then drowns and gets digested by enzymes within the leaf. Some pitcher plants have a secretion to make the wings of the insect wet and useless. This secretion also breaks the surface tension of the water so insects that can walk on water can not on the pitcher plant. Some pitcher plants grow on tendrils, some can even climb up over ten meters. When they start to climb they make aerial pitchers. Aerial pitchers and the normal type look different but are on the same plant. Some types of pitcher plants have poisons that ether stun the insect or make the insect not a were of it's surroundings and not well footed. When the plant produces fruit the seeds in it are light and winged. The only use for its roots is to anchor it in the ground because it gets nutrition from the prey.
One method the plant uses to catch it prey is by using the insects that are caught to attract things like frogs. Another method used to attract prey is the use of pungent odors, it lures insects like moths and flies inside. The lower parts of the plant are colorful, which attracts bees, dragon flies, crickets and bugs. Finally the plant creates a sweet nectar that oozes from under the rim and when insects try to get it they fall in.
The pitcher plant was used for medicine by native American Indians. One use was to aid in stomach, digestive problems and urinary tract disorders. The roots where ingested to treat smallpox, lung and liver ailments. The leaves were dried and made into a tea to treat fever and chills. To date the pitcher plant has never been evaluated by the FDA for safety, effectiveness and purity.
All plants get energy from sun light, air and water but the pitcher plant survives differently. The pitcher plant can grow in areas with poor soil nutrients because it get the nutrients from the prey it eats. The plant has learned to survive by adapting to it's environment.
The rhizomes of the pitcher plant can live under ground for 20-30 years. The rhizomes is the part of the plant the leaves come from. The leaves are used to catch water and put it in the pitcher. Pitchers are a long narrow vessel or a pot belly trap. The hood and neck have little or no color so it makes light shine into the plant comforting? the prey to walk into the pitcher. Insects that are down in the pitcher and try to fly out sometimes hit the hood and then the insect will fall back down. The rim of the pitcher plant is waxy and some even have loose wax to stick to the preys feet making it even harder to walk. Inside the pitcher, after the waxy part, are stiff hairs that make it hard to get a good footing and make the insect unable to walk back up. After the hairs, the sides of the plant becomes a waxy, slick surface. The prey then drowns and gets digested by enzymes within the leaf. Some pitcher plants have a secretion to make the wings of the insect wet and useless. This secretion also breaks the surface tension of the water so insects that can walk on water can not on the pitcher plant. Some pitcher plants grow on tendrils, some can even climb up over ten meters. When they start to climb they make aerial pitchers. Aerial pitchers and the normal type look different but are on the same plant. Some types of pitcher plants have poisons that ether stun the insect or make the insect not a were of it's surroundings and not well footed. When the plant produces fruit the seeds in it are light and winged. The only use for its roots is to anchor it in the ground because it gets nutrition from the prey.
One method the plant uses to catch it prey is by using the insects that are caught to attract things like frogs. Another method used to attract prey is the use of pungent odors, it lures insects like moths and flies inside. The lower parts of the plant are colorful, which attracts bees, dragon flies, crickets and bugs. Finally the plant creates a sweet nectar that oozes from under the rim and when insects try to get it they fall in.
The pitcher plant was used for medicine by native American Indians. One use was to aid in stomach, digestive problems and urinary tract disorders. The roots where ingested to treat smallpox, lung and liver ailments. The leaves were dried and made into a tea to treat fever and chills. To date the pitcher plant has never been evaluated by the FDA for safety, effectiveness and purity.
All plants get energy from sun light, air and water but the pitcher plant survives differently. The pitcher plant can grow in areas with poor soil nutrients because it get the nutrients from the prey it eats. The plant has learned to survive by adapting to it's environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment