Venus flytraps and their prey will always fascinate young gardeners.
CHILDREN, BEGINNERS & EDUCATION
Learning should be fun in every sense, so I’m not suggesting you make your children (or yourself) sit through dry experiments and exams; rather, you should use these fascinating plants to introduce young people to the wider world of green, growing things. After all, to my mind, there is no group of plants quite as amazing as the carnivores.
Start kids young. Let them touch a Venus flytrap. It will grab their attention and do no long-term damage to the plant if the encounters are brief and occasional. Botany is seen as a dull subject, simply because plants do not move and operate in the same time frame we do. To avoid the continuing decline in interest, we need to snatch our children’s developing minds away from electronic games and other distractions of the modern world, and encourage kids to become fascinated with the wonders of the natural environment.
Of course, children are not the only ones susceptible to the marvels of carnivorous plants, and I am happy to see increasing numbers of gardeners and hobbyists become infatuated. The following information is intended to help introduce curious minds of all ages to this captivating group of plants.
OBSERVING
These plants are great fun to watch, and simply observing their behaviour can facilitate discussion on trapping methods, effectiveness, adaptation and evolution, and methods of attraction.
Pitcher in a bottle
This activity requires a small receptacle that will hold water; a clear, 67-oz.(2-litre) plastic soft drink bottle with the label removed; a couple of flies of any variety; and an upright Sarracenia pitcher, freshly cut from one of your plants.
Begin by pouring roughly a cup of water into the bottom of the receptacle. Cut a hole a short distance from the end of the tube section of the pitcher, large enough for a fly to escape. Cut off the bottom section of the bottle, to form a bell shape. (If you are doing this with children, supervise or handle the cutting steps.) Place the pitcher in the water and position the bottle over it, leaving the lid on.
Lift the edge of the bottle and release a fly or two. It may help with handling the flies to first place them in the freezer for a couple of minutes (no more or they might die)—this will slow them down a bit. Once under the bottle cover, the flies will soon return to normal activity. Watch carefully, as the flies are attracted to and subsequently caught by the pitcher. The hole you’ve cut in the pitcher will provide an escape hatch for the fly, but with luck, the process should repeat several times.
The same activity can be performed with full plants inside a standard propagator. Try Dionaea muscipula or a species of Drosera. However, without the escape hole, it will of course be “game over” for the flies.
Filmed traps in action
Plants in the genus Pinguicula move too slowly to be observed. Conversely, specimens of Utricularia move too quickly and are too small. The mechanisms of these carnivorous plants are best observed on film, and a quick Internet search will bring up ample opportunities to witness the plants’ trapping sequences.
Growing carnivorous plants from seed
As we know, carnivorous plants can take a long time to germinate and grow to full size. To preserve any hope of keeping a child’s interest alive (or that of many an adult), forget about growing Venus flytraps or pitcher plants, and instead choose plants that will develop faster. Some species of Drosera, most notably D. capensis, are easy to grow and do so relatively quickly.
Please, please avoid prepacked seed kits. The chances of seeds from these packages germinating are only slightly more than nil, and failure will likely only discourage would-be botanists, as well as further the prevalent view that carnivorous plants are hard to grow.
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
A small collection of carnivorous plants kept in a suitable location in a classroom can be a useful aid to all types of botanical education, for students of any age. For older students, there are a multitude of questions that can spur experiments and analysis. Use the following as prompts to initiate or enhance study.
VENUS FLYTRAPS
How does temperature affect closure speed?
How long do traps take to reopen with prey of different sizes?
What effect do different fertilizers have?
SUNDEWS
What is the smallest mass size of particle that can be detected?
Do different species react with different speeds?
What types of chemical solutions will facilitate a reaction?
SARRACENIA PITCHER PLANTS
Does the volume of nectar produced vary between species?
Does the application of UV light affect trap efficiency?
Do some species drug their prey?