carnivorous plants

[taata]

can any body help me
i do know what is carnivorous plant and the enviroment they like to live in
but i do not know
the mechanisms that responsible for triggering the closure of leaves of carnivorous plants.
if any of you may know please reply me back
thank you

[Dr.Stein]

Carnivorous plants get their nutrients from trapping living animals such as insects. Usually they are colorful and smelly to attrack animals to come closer. They also secrete slimes or sticky substance or provide a water pool or something else (depends on the species) to trap them after they attach to their body. The preys soon will die and the plants start to digest them into organic compounds they need.

Examples of carnivorous plants:
- Nepenthes sp. (Tropical Pitcher Plant)
- Dionaea muscipula (Venus flytrap)
- Byblis sp. (Rainbow Plant)
- Cephalotus sp. (Australian Pitcher Plant)
- Darlingtonia sp. (Cobra Lilly)
- Drosera sp. (Sundews)
- Pinguicula sp. (Butterworts)
- Sarracenia sp. (Trumpet Pitcher Plants)

[protozoan]

It is interesting how Dioanea close they leaves to trap the insect. I think theres hair in the inner surface of the leaves which when excited cause speedy closing of either half of leaves. It is like it possess muscles, like reflex arc in animals but i dont undestand mechanism.

[Dr.Stein]

Dionaea muscipula

The trap is formed by two lobes at the end of the leaf which are usually green with a red tint on the inside. The face of each side of the trap has three hairs (rarely more) in a triangular formation. They are surrounded by digestive glands which form the red color. The periphery of each lobe has a narrow green edging, supplied with nectar-secreting cells that attract the insects. The outer limit of the lobe is edged with pointed teeth, arranged so that the teeth mesh when the two lobes close on an insect. The triggering mechanism is the three hairs on each leaf. One of these hairs must be touched twice or one then another before the trap will close.

In perfect conditions, closure takes place in one thirtieth of a second and will actually produce a snapping sound. The speed changes greatly with rises and fall in temperature or as the trap becomes older. The double-trigger mechanism avoids the trap unnecessarily closing on something other than prey, such as falling plant debris, rain drops, or an accidental brush. The traps close by the cells on the outer leaf surface doubling in size forcing the two lobes together, technically growing shut. To open, the plant has to increase the cell length on the inner surface, forcing the lobes apart. This takes a lot of energy and each leaf is only able to do this about four times before its death, and a new leaf grows. When accidentally triggered the plant will reopen in 24 hours.

[edser]

OUt of curiousity is there any plant that actualy can move?

[mith]

One of our members LrdGeno has a dionaea plant.

No plants don't move, but their gametes can be motile.

And here's a fictional plant that moves(sorta) and sound like a cool pet.
http://terengo.tdonnelly.org/ameratsu/moties.html

[LrdGeno]

yup, i got a dionaea, and it's gettin kinda big. Had to change the pot it was in. There's three hairs on each side of the trap, and they have to be touched. Two different hairs I belive. But I'm still not sure what the mechinism is that causes the plant to close. Oh yeah... name's Josh by the way