Naples Botanical Garden in Florida displays several species of carnivorous plants. These plants have adapted to survive in environments with low nutrients by capturing and digesting insects. The Venus flytrap is well known, but it is only one of between 600 and 800 carnivorous plant species worldwide. Florida has about 42 species, the most of any U.S. state. The Garden features six of these species.
Most carnivorous plants at the Garden grow in sunny areas, such as sites managed with prescribed fire, where sunlight reaches the ground. Sundews and bladderworts are two main types found here. These plants have developed structures to attract, trap, and digest prey. This helps them get nutrients in habitats like bogs, swamps, and sandy soils.
Sundews, including the dwarf sundew (Drosera brevifolia) and the pink sundew (Drosera capillaris), have spoon-shaped leaves with sticky secretions. These secretions trap insects, which are then digested by enzymes. After digestion, the leaf uncurls and is ready to catch more prey. Both species grow in the Garden’s scrub habitats with sandy, low-nutrient soils…