Post by David on Apr 22, 2008 14:17:40 GMT 8
This article was written for the Earth Day event at Zoo Negara on 20 April 2008. It was written by Lim TY, Tarence and me. Some suggestion on conservation were taken from Barry Rice book, "Growing Carnivorous Plants"
WHAT ARE CARNIVOROUS PLANTS
Carnivorous plants are plants that lure, capture, kill and digest bugs and small vertebrates to obtain nutrients for growth and survival.
Most plants grow well because there is sunlight, rain and nutrients in the soil where they grow. But carnivorous plants grow in habitats that are very poor in nutrients. Therefore they make up for this by eating bugs and sometimes small vertebrates. Bugs to the carnivorous plants are like fertilizers to normal plants. In order to capture their prey, they use trickery and trapping mechanism. Some use pitfall traps, lobster pot and eel traps, while others use flypaper traps, bear traps or suction traps.
CARNIVOROUS PLANTS IN MALAYSIA
We are blessed that Malaysia is the center of distribution for the largest carnivorous plant in the world, the genus Nepenthes, or better known locally as Pitcher Plants, Monkey Cup or Periuk Kera in Bahasa Malaysia. Besides the famous pitcher plant, Malaysia is also home to other amazing carnivorous plants such as Sundews (Drosera) and Bladderwort (Utricularia).
Nepenthes
Nepenthes use pitfall traps that are form into a shape of a pitcher to capture their prey. There are currently 36 species and several natural hybrids in Malaysia. The various species can be divided into lowland, intermediate and highland plants according to their altitude in which they grow. Below is the Nepenthes species list in Malaysia.
Lowland
N. ampullaria
N. bicalcarata
N. campanulata
N. gracilis
N. hirsuta
N. hispida
N. mirabilis
N. northiana
N. rafflesiana
Intermediate
N. albomarginata
N. benstonei
N. macrovulgaris
N. reinwardtiana
N. veitchii
Highland
N. burbidgeae
N. chaniana
N. edwardsiana
N. ephippiata
N. faizaliana
N. fusca
N. glandulifera
N. gracillima
N. hurrelliana
N. lowii
N. macfarlanei
N. macrophylla
N. muluensis
N. murudensis
N. platychila
N. rajah
N. ramispina
N. sanguinea
N. stenophylla
N. tentaculata
N. villosa
N. vogelii
Natural hybrids
N. x trusmadiensis
N. x trichocarpa
N. x sarawakiensis
N. x kuchingensis
N. x kinabaluensis
N. x hookeriana
N. x harryana
N. x ghazallyana
N. x cincta
N. x cantleyi
N. x bauensis
N. x alisaputrana
Drosera
Dewy tentacles cover the Drosera leaves and these sticky tentacles act as a trap to capture and digest insect prey. Most Drosera grow on acidic substrate in open areas that are moist. At the moment there is very little scientific study on our local Drosera species. According to current records, there are 3 species of Drosera in Malaysia, namely D. burmannii, D. indica and D. spatulata.
Utricularia
Utricularia trap and digest their prey by the suction trap method with bladder-like traps. They can be found in freshwater and wet soil habitat. Although Utricularia is the largest genus among carnivorous plants, there is very little information about our local species. Below is a list of species in Malaysia based on information from hobbyist.
- U. aurea
- U. bifida
- U. caerulea
- U. gibba
- U. hirta
- U. involvens
- U. minutissima
- U. punctata
- U. scandens
- U. subulata
- U. uliginosa
- U. vitellina
STRESSES ON CARNIVOROUS PLANT POPULATIONS
A few populations of these plants are endangered while many are threatened by future extinction.
This is due to the fact that heath and peat swamp forest, secondary vegetation, wetlands and montane forest where they grow are being cleared for farms and houses, destroying the entire habitat or creating a fragmentation of the habitat. When the habitat is fragmented the small patches of plants (particularly Nepenthes) are not able to survive by breeding among themselves with no pollen or seed being introduce from other sites.
In other places, pollution from fertilizers and pesticides poisons the soil or water and kills the plants. To a lesser extent, the removal of Nepenthes by irresponsible nursery owners and collectors also plays a part in reducing the population of these amazing plants in their natural habitat. More research on the distribution and conservation status of the genus Drosera and Utricularia also needs to be done in Malaysia.
Most species of Nepenthes in Malaysia are not seriously threatened at present due to their wide distribution. However, the status of wild Drosera and Utricularia are not known. Regular monitoring of the conservation status of each species is required to enable the government and interest groups to act effectively in the event of sudden deleterious changes.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Things you can do to decrease the rate at which
carnivorous plants are being destroyed:
Modify your own behavior by showing sensible conservation practices, even if there is not an immediate connection to carnivorous plants. Develop a conservation ethic regarding recycling, energy use and resource consumption. Support, volunteer or work for organizations dealing with the conservation of carnivorous plants. Encourage the conservation awareness of other people through a non-confrontational way, getting them excited about their natural heritage.
When visiting a carnivorous plant habitat:
Minimize the damage from your passing. Avoid extremely sensitive areas or rare plant sites. Do not damage delicate soil structure such as Sphagnum beds or riverbanks. Be sensitive to all life and do not harass any creature. Remove any trash or litter you find. Vigorously discourage inappropriate activities by others, but remember you are not the law.
BASIC CULTIVATION GUIDE TO CARNIVOROUS PLANTS
Carnivorous plants grow in wet, low nutrient and sunny habitats and these conditions need to be replicated in cultivation in order for them to thrive or grow well.
There are three things that you need to concentrate on when cultivating carnivorous plants. They are sunlight, growing medium and humidity.
Besides this it is also advisable not to fertilize carnivorous plants as their roots are made primarily to absorb only water. When it comes in contact with fertilizers, the roots will burn and die. Another thing to note is to provide a period of winter dormancy for species that grow in countries with winter. Tropical species in Malaysia do not need winter dormancy.
Tropical Pitcher Plants (Nepenthes) requires filtered sunlight (about 50% shade cloth), humid conditions and the growing media kept wet but allowed to dry out inbetween watering. They can be placed in a plastic pot with sphagnum moss or coconut chips as the medium and watered daily.
Sundew (Drosera), Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea Muscipula) and American Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia) can be grown in full sun all day. You can use sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum moss as its growing medium. Place the pots in a tray of water to ensure that the potting medium is kept wet all the time.
Other carnivorous plants like West Australian Pitcher Plant (Cephalotus), Sun Pitcher (Heliamphora), Butterwort (Pinguicula), Rainbow Plant (Byblis), Bladderwort (Utricularia) and others can also be grown in similar conditions. However, they need extra care with humidity and sunlight level. For the genus Heliamphora, temperatures need to be cooler especially at night.
WHAT ARE CARNIVOROUS PLANTS
Carnivorous plants are plants that lure, capture, kill and digest bugs and small vertebrates to obtain nutrients for growth and survival.
Most plants grow well because there is sunlight, rain and nutrients in the soil where they grow. But carnivorous plants grow in habitats that are very poor in nutrients. Therefore they make up for this by eating bugs and sometimes small vertebrates. Bugs to the carnivorous plants are like fertilizers to normal plants. In order to capture their prey, they use trickery and trapping mechanism. Some use pitfall traps, lobster pot and eel traps, while others use flypaper traps, bear traps or suction traps.
CARNIVOROUS PLANTS IN MALAYSIA
We are blessed that Malaysia is the center of distribution for the largest carnivorous plant in the world, the genus Nepenthes, or better known locally as Pitcher Plants, Monkey Cup or Periuk Kera in Bahasa Malaysia. Besides the famous pitcher plant, Malaysia is also home to other amazing carnivorous plants such as Sundews (Drosera) and Bladderwort (Utricularia).
Nepenthes
Nepenthes use pitfall traps that are form into a shape of a pitcher to capture their prey. There are currently 36 species and several natural hybrids in Malaysia. The various species can be divided into lowland, intermediate and highland plants according to their altitude in which they grow. Below is the Nepenthes species list in Malaysia.
Lowland
N. ampullaria
N. bicalcarata
N. campanulata
N. gracilis
N. hirsuta
N. hispida
N. mirabilis
N. northiana
N. rafflesiana
Intermediate
N. albomarginata
N. benstonei
N. macrovulgaris
N. reinwardtiana
N. veitchii
Highland
N. burbidgeae
N. chaniana
N. edwardsiana
N. ephippiata
N. faizaliana
N. fusca
N. glandulifera
N. gracillima
N. hurrelliana
N. lowii
N. macfarlanei
N. macrophylla
N. muluensis
N. murudensis
N. platychila
N. rajah
N. ramispina
N. sanguinea
N. stenophylla
N. tentaculata
N. villosa
N. vogelii
Natural hybrids
N. x trusmadiensis
N. x trichocarpa
N. x sarawakiensis
N. x kuchingensis
N. x kinabaluensis
N. x hookeriana
N. x harryana
N. x ghazallyana
N. x cincta
N. x cantleyi
N. x bauensis
N. x alisaputrana
Drosera
Dewy tentacles cover the Drosera leaves and these sticky tentacles act as a trap to capture and digest insect prey. Most Drosera grow on acidic substrate in open areas that are moist. At the moment there is very little scientific study on our local Drosera species. According to current records, there are 3 species of Drosera in Malaysia, namely D. burmannii, D. indica and D. spatulata.
Utricularia
Utricularia trap and digest their prey by the suction trap method with bladder-like traps. They can be found in freshwater and wet soil habitat. Although Utricularia is the largest genus among carnivorous plants, there is very little information about our local species. Below is a list of species in Malaysia based on information from hobbyist.
- U. aurea
- U. bifida
- U. caerulea
- U. gibba
- U. hirta
- U. involvens
- U. minutissima
- U. punctata
- U. scandens
- U. subulata
- U. uliginosa
- U. vitellina
STRESSES ON CARNIVOROUS PLANT POPULATIONS
A few populations of these plants are endangered while many are threatened by future extinction.
This is due to the fact that heath and peat swamp forest, secondary vegetation, wetlands and montane forest where they grow are being cleared for farms and houses, destroying the entire habitat or creating a fragmentation of the habitat. When the habitat is fragmented the small patches of plants (particularly Nepenthes) are not able to survive by breeding among themselves with no pollen or seed being introduce from other sites.
In other places, pollution from fertilizers and pesticides poisons the soil or water and kills the plants. To a lesser extent, the removal of Nepenthes by irresponsible nursery owners and collectors also plays a part in reducing the population of these amazing plants in their natural habitat. More research on the distribution and conservation status of the genus Drosera and Utricularia also needs to be done in Malaysia.
Most species of Nepenthes in Malaysia are not seriously threatened at present due to their wide distribution. However, the status of wild Drosera and Utricularia are not known. Regular monitoring of the conservation status of each species is required to enable the government and interest groups to act effectively in the event of sudden deleterious changes.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Things you can do to decrease the rate at which
carnivorous plants are being destroyed:
Modify your own behavior by showing sensible conservation practices, even if there is not an immediate connection to carnivorous plants. Develop a conservation ethic regarding recycling, energy use and resource consumption. Support, volunteer or work for organizations dealing with the conservation of carnivorous plants. Encourage the conservation awareness of other people through a non-confrontational way, getting them excited about their natural heritage.
When visiting a carnivorous plant habitat:
Minimize the damage from your passing. Avoid extremely sensitive areas or rare plant sites. Do not damage delicate soil structure such as Sphagnum beds or riverbanks. Be sensitive to all life and do not harass any creature. Remove any trash or litter you find. Vigorously discourage inappropriate activities by others, but remember you are not the law.
BASIC CULTIVATION GUIDE TO CARNIVOROUS PLANTS
Carnivorous plants grow in wet, low nutrient and sunny habitats and these conditions need to be replicated in cultivation in order for them to thrive or grow well.
There are three things that you need to concentrate on when cultivating carnivorous plants. They are sunlight, growing medium and humidity.
Besides this it is also advisable not to fertilize carnivorous plants as their roots are made primarily to absorb only water. When it comes in contact with fertilizers, the roots will burn and die. Another thing to note is to provide a period of winter dormancy for species that grow in countries with winter. Tropical species in Malaysia do not need winter dormancy.
Tropical Pitcher Plants (Nepenthes) requires filtered sunlight (about 50% shade cloth), humid conditions and the growing media kept wet but allowed to dry out inbetween watering. They can be placed in a plastic pot with sphagnum moss or coconut chips as the medium and watered daily.
Sundew (Drosera), Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea Muscipula) and American Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia) can be grown in full sun all day. You can use sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum moss as its growing medium. Place the pots in a tray of water to ensure that the potting medium is kept wet all the time.
Other carnivorous plants like West Australian Pitcher Plant (Cephalotus), Sun Pitcher (Heliamphora), Butterwort (Pinguicula), Rainbow Plant (Byblis), Bladderwort (Utricularia) and others can also be grown in similar conditions. However, they need extra care with humidity and sunlight level. For the genus Heliamphora, temperatures need to be cooler especially at night.