A RESEARCHER from the University of Gloucestershire has revealed intriguing findings about the carnivorous round-leaved sundew, cousin to the Venus fly-trap.
Research from Dr Chris Hatcher and Dr Jonathan Millett cast new light on sundews’ sensitivity to their surroundings, after finding they modify their carnivorous traits in response to environmental changes.
They studied how sundews responded to differences in sunlight, and the availability of nitrogen through rainfall, with a key finding that sundews are more carnivorous in high-sunlight bog microhabitats that are not rich in nutrients.
Dr Hatcher said: “The resilience and adaptability of sundews that we have discovered could be key to their survival in changing environmental conditions, which is a fantastic breakthrough for all admirers of this popular predatory plant.
“By exploring these adaptive patterns in rainfall and sunlight, we have demonstrated how carnivorous plants can persist in nutrient-poor environments by responding flexibly to local conditions.
“This adaptability might allow sundews to survive in specific microhabitats by eating more prey where it is most advantageous, which is an important discovery for understanding how species can survive in a changing environment.”
The carnivorous round-leaved sundew is known for capturing and digesting small insects, by attracting them to sticky, sugary substances on the hair-like tentacles on its leaves.
This provides the plant with vital nutrients that aren’t always readily available in the bogs of its habitat.
The researchers found where rainfall is higher, nitrogen accumulates in low-lying hollows and the sundews’ are not so carnivorous.
In areas with more balanced rainfall, sundews are theoretically able to gain nutrients through roots across hollows and hummocks equally.
In the same conditions, sundews are more carnivorous when they grow in hollows, with leaves having 50% more sticky tentacles to capture prey. This is because hollows gain more sunlight than hummocks, which shade the sundews.