Carnivorous Plants - worksheet for gr 6

You have already learned about plants. Make sure you know the following (if you cannot remember it all, do some extra research or find videos to refresh your memory)

• Explain how plants produce their own food through photosynthesis
• What are the functions of each of the following parts of a plant?  Leaves (also name the different types), stem, roots (also name the different root systems), seeds and flowers
• Why does a plant have seeds in its fruits or flowers?
• What does the word germination mean and explain how it takes place
• Can you name ways in which seeds are dispersed (make sure you can also identify different types of seeds adapted to the different ways of dispersion)

It is a good idea to start your own garden - you can plant veggies or fruits or flowering plants - this will give you the opportunity to look after and care for something that is your own and will also give you lots of fresh air. Get some ideas from the following link https://extension.illinois.edu/firstgarden/

                                          

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Let's learn about some very weird plants that eats meat......whaaaaaaaat??

Imagine you are a fly - just flying around, minding your own business.  You get tired and see a place to land. After you have landed on the leaf, you see something strange.  This leaf has hair.  You move around but that triggers the mechanism of the plant .....SNAP!! the leaf closes and you are stuck... 

Sorry fly, you have been caught by a Venus flytrap and you will be digested in 5 to 12 days .

                                    

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This is just one example of a carnivorous plant (meat eating).  

• Why do you think these plant live on insects?

These plants still get energy from the Sun but they do not get nutrients from the ground (they usually live in barren ground) and therefore have to get their nutrients from catching insects.

• What is the meaning of barren?
• why does a plant need nutrients?

On earth there are a quater of a million plant species and only 600 species are carnivorous.

Lets have a look at a few interesting ones.

The Pitcher plant - it attract the insects with its nectar but once the insect lands on the plant it slips down into the deep chamber and the hairs makes it difficult to escape.  The insects slides down into the pit with digestive juices and are eaten.

                                          

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Sundews are plants that sparkle in the sunlight and who can resist something sparkling and pretty?  But the sparkling part is a goo called mucilage (no bug can resist this).  This is where the bug will get stuck and will not be able to get away - the Sundews also has tentacles that strangles the bug.  It will die in 15 min. and the plant will dissolve the prey in its enzymes and take up the nutrients.

                                           

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Corkscrew plants have an inviting stem and bugs will come and investigate it, just to get lost in the stem.  The hairs of the stem allows the insect to go forward but not back and it leads the insect to a chamber filled with digestive fluids.

                          

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These are just a few examples of carnivorous plants - they may seem tough but they are difficult to keep at home.  They live in places where other plants will not be able to. 

The strength of a carnivorous plant becomes a weakness if it is planted in soil rich in nutrients, but in barren soil they thrive because they can catch their own food and get the much needed nutrients.

• do your own research on this topic - find more examples of different carnivorous plants, in which countries do we find it and how does it catch its prey?
• if you are lucky enough to receive a Venus flytrap as a present, find out how you must care for it?
• watch the video