Catapulting tentacles in a sticky carnivorous plant

PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e45735. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045735. Epub 2012 Sep 26.

Abstract

Among trapping mechanisms in carnivorous plants, those termed 'active' have especially fascinated scientists since Charles Darwin's early works because trap movements are involved. Fast snap-trapping and suction of prey are two of the most spectacular examples for how these plants actively catch animals, mainly arthropods, for a substantial nutrient supply. We show that Drosera glanduligera, a sundew from southern Australia, features a sophisticated catapult mechanism: Prey animals walking near the edge of the sundew trigger a touch-sensitive snap-tentacle, which swiftly catapults them onto adjacent sticky glue-tentacles; the insects are then slowly drawn within the concave trap leaf by sticky tentacles. This is the first detailed documentation and analysis of such catapult-flypaper traps in action and highlights a unique and surprisingly complex mechanical adaptation to carnivory.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Physiological
  • Animals
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Biophysics / methods
  • Carnivory*
  • Diptera
  • Drosera
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Motion
  • Movement
  • Plant Leaves
  • Plants / metabolism*
  • Stress, Mechanical

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research within the funding directive BIONA. http://www.bmbf.de/en/index.php. http://www.bionische-innovationen.de/#home.html. The article processing charge was (partly) funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg in the funding programme Open Access Publishing. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.