Carnivorous Plants

Plants that catch and feed upon animals exert a strange fascination of their own. The mobile tentacles of the Sundews, the snapping lobes of the Venus Fly Trap and the slippery, baited pitfalls of the Pitcher Plants provide the stuff of which science fiction is made. Yet far from being fantasy, these extraordinary organisms are fact, and this book explores in depth the astonishingly subtle manner in which each type of trap entices, catches, and digests its prey. The author focuses on some fifty species, using photographs, line drawings, and diagrams to illustrate their peculiarities. He takes us from his own climate to the mountains of Borneo, through the bushlands of Australia, to the swamps of the Amazon forest. We find plants whose traps catch only microscopic animals, and others that may trap small reptiles, mammals and even birds. In addition to its spectacular photographs, other important features are the book's world-wide coverage of carnivorous plants and its comprehensive chapters on cultivation of the various groups. Carnivorous Plantswill appeal to botanists and zoologists and to the numerous enthusiasts who will find a good many of these intriguing plants easy to grow indoors.Slack, Adrian is the author of 'Carnivorous Plants' with ISBN 9780262690898 and ISBN 0262690896.