Page 156 - Design in Nature

MECHANICAL TRAPS

Genlisea
The trap of the genlisea resembles animal
intestines. The roots that branch out under the
ground are hollow swollen tubes. Water is
pressured to seep into these tubes. Through the slits
in the tubes, there is a flow towards the inside of the
plant, which is triggered by little interior hairs.
Insects and other small organisms float inside due
to the flow of water. All the sections through which
the flow passes are covered with bristly hairs that
point downward. Along the way, the prey
encounters a series of digestive glands, which act
like a valve and form a second force pushing the
insects into the plant. Finally, the captives become
the food of the genlisea. 51

The Trap of the Bladderwort
The bladderwort is a sea plant commonly
referred to in the scientific world as Utricularia.
There are three kinds of gland in the trap of the
bladderwort: first, the spherical glands located The amazing structure of
genlisea leaves: a
outside the trap; the others, the “four-pointed
cylindrical stem (A) is
gland” and “two-pointed gland” are inside. The located after an onion
portion (B) followed by
plant uses these glands as different phases of a trap. another cylindrical stem
(C), at the end of which is
a fissured mouth (D).