Autumn Soup. Sarracenia leucophylla, White-Topped Pitcher Plant, digesting Insects, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherland
In 1817 Constantine Samuel Raffinesque-Schmaltz published his flora of Florida. In it he described this White-Topped Pitcher Plant that he'd found near Pensacola. It's a much cherished plant now in botanical gardens though red-listed in Florida.
Even in Autumn there are still a few flies around. They're attracted to this Sarracenia, described by Raffinesque as 'honey-smelling'. Inevitably they slip on the plants smooth surfaces and plunge downwards into a fatal cup. There they come to their end in a pool containing Pitcher Plant's digestive fluids.
It's quite chilly now - about 8C - and I wonder whether digestion is slower than in warmer days. Anyway, the inset gives you a look into Pitcher's 'soup'. You will note some dead flies, some of them of the Bottle kind... (Lucilia sp.).
Autumn Soup. Sarracenia leucophylla, White-Topped Pitcher Plant, digesting Insects, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherland
In 1817 Constantine Samuel Raffinesque-Schmaltz published his flora of Florida. In it he described this White-Topped Pitcher Plant that he'd found near Pensacola. It's a much cherished plant now in botanical gardens though red-listed in Florida.
Even in Autumn there are still a few flies around. They're attracted to this Sarracenia, described by Raffinesque as 'honey-smelling'. Inevitably they slip on the plants smooth surfaces and plunge downwards into a fatal cup. There they come to their end in a pool containing Pitcher Plant's digestive fluids.
It's quite chilly now - about 8C - and I wonder whether digestion is slower than in warmer days. Anyway, the inset gives you a look into Pitcher's 'soup'. You will note some dead flies, some of them of the Bottle kind... (Lucilia sp.).