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Once known only to collectors, adolescent boys, and fans of the cult film The Little Shop of Horrors, carnivorous plants are poised to be the next big trend in home gardening. They provide striking architectural style and can be grown indoors and outdoors. Carnivorous Plants is an accessible, smartly designed guide to growing this unusual group of plants. It offers a general introduction to the world of carnivorous plants, and growing and cultivation information for commonly available and easily grown varieties. Nigel Hewitt-Cooper also provides advice on where to grow the plants; year-round care, cultivation, and maintenance; and a directory of the best carnivorous plants for home gardeners.
The experience which has led to the writing of this book began in 1929 when, examining a species related to Utricularia gibba, I made an observation of some importance in understanding the mechanism of the trap. This begot a desire to study as many other species of the genus as I could obtain for comparison, primarily to determine the validity of my conclusions. My feeling that research in this field was promising was strengthened by the discovery that the pertinent literature was singularly barren of the information most needed, that is to say, precise accounts of the structure of the entrance mechanisms of the traps. And an examination of much herbarium material, because of the meagreness of the underground parts of the terrestrial types resulting from indifferent methods of collection, forced the conclusion that, even had other difficulties inherent in studying dried material not intervened, it would be necessary to obtain adequately preserved specimens. This meant a wide correspondence and, if possible, extensive travel. The uncertainty of achieving the latter made the former imperative.
Over 200 species, hybrids, and cultivars from all genera of carnivorous plants are described in this comprehensive volume. Detailed cultivation advice is provided to enable readers to select and place the right plants, while information on how to feed carnivorous plants will enable even the most squeamish grower to ensure that plants receive the nutrients they require.
Carnivorous plants have fascinated botanists, evolutionary biologists, ecologists, physiologists, developmental biologists, anatomists, horticulturalists, and the general public for centuries. Charles Darwin was the first scientist to demonstrate experimentally that some plants could actually attract, kill, digest, and absorb nutrients from insect prey; his book Insectivorous Plants (1875) remains a widely-cited classic. Since then, many movies and plays, short stories, novels, coffee-table picture books, and popular books on the cultivation of carnivorous plants have been produced. However, all of these widely read products depend on accurate scientific information, and most of them have re...
"Australian Carnivorous Plants" is a beautifully produced coffeetable book with extensive colour photographs of all carnivorousplant genera found in Australia (Aldrovanda, Byblis, Cephalotus,Drosera, Nepenthes, and Utricularia). Incorporating 180 images ofover 150 species taken over the past two decades by acclaimedwildlife photographers and carnivorous plant experts, Greg Bourkeand Richard Nunn, this visually striking book is the first workdedicated to highlighting the beauty of Australian carnivorousplants in the wild through high-quality photographs.The selection of breathtaking images featured in this lavishlyillustrated work was carefully chosen to highlight theextraordinary diversity o...
A lavishly illustrated introduction to meat-eating plants Fresh as a daisy, pretty as a rose: most plants are commonly characterized by their gentle beauty or delicate sensory qualities. Carnivorous plants, on the other hand, are quite literally out for blood. These beautiful yet deadly plants use their singular adaptations--like sweet nectar, mesmerizing colors, or biological restroom facilities--to trap, kill, and eat everything from insects to crustaceans, reptiles to rodents. This pocketbook from Kew showcases forty examples of this fascinating group of vegetal meat-eaters, from the famed Venus flytrap to the lesser-known but equally intriguing pitcher plant and sundew. Each plant is paired with a striking painting drawn from Kew's Library, Art and Archives, one of the most extensive botanical libraries in the world. Featuring an introduction by weird plant expert Chris Thorogood, this book is a perfect overview of those plants that turn the natural food chain on its head.
Provides an introduction to carnivorous plants, and features descriptions and illustrations of representative species, each with detailed information on the structure and mechanism of its trap.
An exploration of the science and cultural significance of carnivorous plants, now in paperback. Carnivorous plants are a unique botanical group, possessing modified leaves to trap, kill, and consume small creatures. As a result, they are often depicted as killers in films and literature—from Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors to the world-dominating plants of The Day of the Triffids—yet many people regard carnivorous plants as exotic and beautiful specimens to collect and display. In this abundantly illustrated and highly entertaining book, Dan Torre describes the evolution, structure, and scientific background of carnivorous plants. Examining their cultural and social history, he also shows how they have inspired our imagination and been represented in art, literature, cinema, animation, and popular culture. From the Venus flytrap—a species endemic to the Carolinas—to pitcher plants, this fascinating history of these singular, arresting, beautiful, yet deadly plants is certain to be devoured.
Carnivorous plants are the most unusual of all flowering plants. So called because they have evolved the unique ability to attract, trap, kill and digest insects and other small animals. These plants turn the tables of the natural world and prey on fauna in order to augment nutrients that are otherwise not available in the often harsh and extreme habitats in which they grow. This work examines the wild ecology and natural diversity of all known genera of carnivorous plants and examines the remarkable and often spectacular means by which they trap and kill animal prey. Volume two covers genus accounts of the Sticky-Leaved Insect Plants, Corkscrew Plants and Bladderworts, including Triphyophyllum, Drosera, Drosophyllum, Roridula, Byblis, Pinguicula, Ibicella and Proboscidea, Philcoxia, Genlisea, and Utricularia and concluding chapters.