Butterworts   GENUS Pinguicula

Pinguicula lu    tea

The surface of a butterwort's leaf is covered with fine hairs holding a glue-like mucilage. Because of this mucilageous substance, the leaf surface feels oily to the touch. This gave the plant its common name.

When an insect lands or crawls on a butterwort leaf, it becomes mired down to the surface in the sticky secretions. The mucilage is produced from glands at the tip of the short hairs. Unlike sundew tentacles, these short hairs of the butterwort do not exhibits any movement. Butterworts are usually capable of capturing only the small est of insects such as gnats.

In addition to these stalked glands, there are other kinds of glands which are almost buried on the leaf surface. When a nutritious object, such as an insect, is caught on the leaf, these sessile (stalkless) glands produce digestive fluids over the trapped prey. Often the edge of the leaf curls up slowly if the prey is placed near the leaf margin. This movement of the leaf seems to help hold the digestive juices in place around the prey. Sometimes a tiny insect is seen completely submerged in the fluids. As the digestion process progresses, nutrients from the dissolved insect are quickly taken in through the leaf surface and used for various growth activities of the plant.

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When the trigger hairs on the inner surface of the trap lobes are stimulated, the clam-shell-shaped trap closes suddenly --- often in less than a half second --- fast enough to capture such agile insects as a fly quite comfortably. Intermeshing marginal spines effectively prevent the prey's escape. After the initial rapid closure, the insect's struggle inside the trap further stimulates the trigger hairs, causing the trap lobes to close even more tightly.  In a day or so, the trap is seen tightly sealed around the free margins of the lobes, with the marginal spines pointing outwardly. The digestive fluids start to ooze into the now sealed trap cavity. As the digestive process progresses, the products of digestion are swiftly absorbed through the leaf and are carried away to the other parts of the plant.

Introduction  Venus Flytrap  Sundews  Pitcher Plants  Cobra Plant  Butterworts  Bladderworts