Carnivorous plants are found among the variety of terrestrial flora, but the tropical vine Triphyophyllum peltatum is the only one that shows a tendency to “meat-eating” only from time to time. Scientists for a long time could not understand what its owner was checking. The study of this issue was complicated by the fact that the vine is extremely difficult to grow in the laboratory.
the liana is practically unremarkable and receives energy for life from the process of photosynthesis, traditional for plants. But sometimes glandular leaves appear on the fingertips of a red sticky liquid. With its size, careless beetles are compiled and digested, inadvertently caught in a trap. After the heat has gone, the vine stops catching insects and returns during photosynthesis. Interestingly, some plants of this species will never become carnivorous.
The researchers hypothesized that the metamorphoses cause a lack of some important nutrient. They grow several samples of vines in plastic pots with the presence of soils. After six months, there are regular signs of being that glandular leaves appear in plants planted in soils with a lack of phosphorus. It is carnivory that allows you to replenish its reserves by absorbing insects. When the phosphorus content is restored to a certain level, the plant begins to produce leaves for photosynthesis.
Source: Tech Cult
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