Scientists report that Triantha occidentalis, a common flower on North America’s West Coast, is carnivorous. That means it eats meat. To be more exact, it gets energy from tiny insects that get trapped on the sticky hairs of its long green stems.
It’s not unusual for plants to have sticky stems to stop small insect pests.
But it’s unusual for a carnivorous plant to 'eat' things with its stem. Still, scientists say that’s what Triantha occidentalis does – breaking small insects down and absorbing them as food.
The hairs on its stems aren’t sticky enough to trap larger insects like bees or butterflies. That’s probably because the plant needs these insects to spread its pollen.
Triantha occidentalis is the first new carnivorous plant discovered in 20 years. But now that its secret is out, Sean Graham, one of the researchers, thinks there could soon be more. “I suspect that there might be more carnivorous plants out there than we think,” he says.
Courtesy: News For Kids (NFK)