stems feed on small insects such as
mosquitoes.
20 years later, a new carnivorous plant Trianta occidentalis flower was discovered. Insects attach to the fluid secreted by the stem hairs and become food. /UBC
One should not judge only by appearance. The same is true for plants. It looks like an ordinary flower living on the side of the road, but it is a newly discovered carnivorous plant 20 years later.
The research team of Professor Shin Graham of the University of British Columbia in Canada announced on the 9th in the international academic journal " Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" (PNAS), "We have proved through experiments that Tribulus terrestris is an insectivorous plant. Insect. .".
Trianta is a perennial herb that lives in the region from Alaska to California in western North America. It has white flowers and can grow up to 80 cm tall in summer. Researchers said that Trianta is a new carnivorous plant that was discovered for the first time since 2012.
A new insectivorous plant Trianta occidentalis was discovered 20 years later. Insects attach to the fluid secreted by the stem hairs and become food. /UBC
Like other carnivorous plants in previous studies, Trianta was found to lack specific genes related to photosynthesis. To prove their potential for carnivorous plants, researchers fed fruit flies with food containing nitrogen 15 isotopes. The atomic weight of nitrogen in its natural state is 14, but this isotope has a neutron to make it heavier. If plants absorb fruit flies, natural nitrogen 15 isotopes must also be increased.
results as expected. When the researchers released fruit flies in the swamps of the Canadian mountains, Trianta's leaves, stems, and fruits released nitrogen 15 isotopes after two weeks.No nitrogen 15 isotopes were detected in nearby non-insect plants. Half of the nitrogen detected in Trianta comes from fruit flies. Carnivorous plants use phosphatase to extract phosphorus, a nutrient substance, from insects. Trianta also has this enzyme.
A new insectivorous plant Trianta occidentalis was discovered 20 years later. Insects attach to the fluid secreted by the stem hairs and become food. /UBC
In most carnivorous plants, leaves away from flowers can become insect traps. This is because the flowers must be separated from the traps so as not to harm pollinators. When the insect touches it, the fly hell closes the leaf, and the insect eater traps the insect in the trap-shaped leaf.
On the other hand, in treeanta, the flowering stem becomes a trap. Small insects such as mosquitoes and midges attach to the sticky red liquid secreted by the hair on the stem. Researchers estimate that even if the trap is close to a flower, it is small and will not harm pollinating bees or butterflies. The co-author of the study, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Tom Gibnisi said: "The fluid secreted by the hair has a weak viscosity and can only catch small insects, such as gnats."
Insect plants always prey on insects, but Trianta is different in that it only acts as an insectivore when the flowers are in bloom. Trianta is also a rare monocotyledonous carnivorous plant. Monocots have thin veins and are not easy to become traps for catching insects.
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