Meat Canada’s 4 carnivorous plants

Pitcher plants are largely insect eaters, and Canada has one species, the purple pitcher plant. These plants have a narrow, pitcher-like cavity filled with a liquid that’s strong enough to break down the bodies of whatever is unfortunate enough to fall in. So maybe…don’t stick your finger inside. Just to be safe.

Sundew plants—Canada has several native species—use sticky mucous to lure and trap the bugs that make the mistake of walking on their leaves. The substance also contains enzymes that digest the bodies of their victims.

Butterworts, like sundews, produce a gluey slime to make sure their prey gets stuck long enough to be “eaten”. There are at least 80 butterwort species in the world; the common butterwort, native to parts of Canada, tends to grow in boggy areas low in nutrients. The plant uses the insects it traps to replace what it can’t get from the soil—it’s an adaptation that evolved in most carnivorous species.

Bladderworts are aquatic. They have a “trap” made of leaf material; it's covered with fine hairs on the door portion of the trap. When the trap is triggered—when an insect brushes the hairs—the door opens and sucks in the meal, along with some water. Makes sense. Water helps with digestion, right?