Mt. Nusatsum

Mt. Nusatsum

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Hungry Plants


All plants need certain basic nutrition.  Most plants get it from the soil and water they live in but if you live in a nutrient deprived area like a peat bog then you have to figure out another strategy.   That's exactly what these plants do, the round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) plant.  It only grows in highly acidic conditions which is usually peat bogs and is very common on the BC coast in such bogs.  It's solved the nutrient problem by becoming a carnivore - it eats insects just like the partially digested one in this photo.

It seems to work for them because they thrive in conditions where they live, using the sticky nectar to attract insects and then trapping them in the goo and slowly digesting the good parts.  Probably where the guy that invented the sticky insect strips got his idea.

We had another perfectly nice summer day in the Bella Coola Valley, some high cloud in the morning which gave way to a breezy westerly warm summer day with a perfect living temperature of 25 C.  The only problem is that it is extremely dry in the valley and a bad lightning storm like last July could be a cause for concern.  Grizzly

2 comments:

  1. Your photos are getting really good. Keep up the good work.
    Love the blog!

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  2. Sundews are such amazing little plants. We have lots growing on the log booms around our float cabin on Powell Lake. The favourite food for our little carnivores is damsel flies. This time of year it is almost difficult to see the plants from all the blue carcasses in their hungry little "mouths." - Margy

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