Carnivorous Plants and Angiosperms

• Many carnivorous plants, such as the pitcher plant, reproduce via seeds. Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

  Angiosperms are flowering plants that must undergo pollination to reproduce. Many carnivorous plants are angiosperms, since they reproduce via seeds. To reproduce, carnivorous plants rely on insects and other creatures to move pollen between the male and female parts of the plant. Sometimes, the insect is eaten after it performs its job, while other carnivorous plants rely on one type of insect for pollination and another as prey.

California Pitcher Plant

• Also known as cobra lily, the California pitcher plant gets its name from the shape of its stalks, which resemble cobra heads. The plant produces a large flower between April and August that hangs down because of the blossom's weight. According to San Francisco State University's Department of Geography, commensal spiders may be responsible for helping to pollinate the plant. A colony of pitcher plants contains stalks ranging from a few inches to more than 1-1/2 feet in height. Each stalk is a single leaf that folds into a tube about an inch wide at the bottom. Each stalk grows in a direction away from the other stalks surrounding it, allowing the plant to cover a larger area to catch prey. Insects, such as the commensal spider, are lured to the nectar at the top of the red and mottled head of the stalk. The insects inadvertently help transport pollen between the male and female parts of the plant so they can produce seeds. Once an insect enters the tube, it searches for an opening but cannot find a way out. Eventually, it drops to the bottom of the tube where the plant digests it.

Butterwort

• Butterwort is a carnivorous plant growing to 6 inches in height. The plant produces purple to white flowers from June to August, depending on location The plant catches insects by encouraging them to land on their leaves, where a sticky substance traps them. Once the insect is stuck, a leaf folds over the insect, and the plant digests it. The butterwort's prey of choice includes flies that carry pollen on their feet between the plant's male and female parts, helping to pollinate the plant and produce seeds. Sometimes, the butterwort's leaves die after folding over an insect since the surface's reduced leaf areas makes it less available for photosynthesis. The plant grows in bogs and wet soil in the mountains at low to middle altitudes.

Sundew

• The sundew features small clumps or rosettes of leaves growing up to 4 inches in height. The plant produces tiny, white, five-petaled flowers in late June through July on a stem that grows out from the center of the rosettes. As insects crawl around on the flowers in search of food, they help transfer pollen between the male and females parts of the flower so it eventually produces seeds. Long reddish hairs cover the leaves, each ending in a drop of sticky fluid. Insects are attracted to the sticky hairs. Once the insect lands, it becomes stuck in the fluid. The leaf then curls around the prey and digests it. The plant thrives in wetlands near dunes and along rocky shores.