![]() Pitcher plants aren’t equipped to make regular meals out of mammals, though. ![]() Explainer: Insects, arachnids and other arthropods Those enzymes break the animal’s tissue down into nutrients that the pitcher plant absorbs. Insects (and sometimes small mammals) that lose their footing on this coating plunge into a pool of digestive enzymes. The lips of these “pitchers” have a slippery coating. This botanist studies tropical pitcher plants at Michigan State University in Hickory Corners. “You could get a really tall, deep pitcher that would be effective as a pitfall trap for larger animals,” says Kadeem Gilbert. These plants lure prey into their tube-shaped leaves using sweet nectar. But what would it take for a carnivorous plant to capture and consume a person? Don’t fall inĬarnivorous plants come in many shapes and sizes. Humans aren’t on the menu for the 800 or so carnivorous plants found worldwide. These hungry flora use traps such as sticky leaves, slippery tubes and hairy snap-traps to catch insects, animal poop and the occasional small bird or mammal. Many of these villainous vines are based on real vegetation: carnivorous plants. And in The Addams Family, Morticia owns an “African Strangler” plant with a pesky habit of biting humans. video games hope to make a snack out of our favorite plumber. In the classic movie Little Shop of Horrors, a gigantic plant with shark-sized jaws needs human blood to grow. There’s no shortage of man-eating plants in popular culture.
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