Sweet White Flower's Secret Carnivore Stems Uncovered; Scientists Found It’s a Carnivorous Insect Killing Plant

A small white flower appears to be attractive, but based on a new discovery near the Pacific Northwest's urban centers, it's considered a carnivorous plant that can kill Insects.

As specified in an NPR report, identified as Triantha occidentalis, the bog-dwelling western asphodel, was initially described in 1879 in the scientific literature.

However, researchers of a new study said, until to date, no one realized this seemingly sweet-looking plant is using its sticky stem to clasp and digest insects, making it the first new carnivorous plant to be detected in roughly two decades.

According to botanist Sean Graham, from the University of British Columbia, they had no idea the flower was carnivorous.

The carnivorous plant was not discovered in some exotic tropical sites, although they are really "right on our doorstep in Vancouver."

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Triantha Occidentalis

Less than 1,000 plant species are carnivorous and they tend to live in areas that are abundant in water and sun but are poor in soil nutrients.

The team of Graham was working on an unrelated project on plant genetics and noticed that the Triantha occidentalis had a genetic deletion that is at times, observed in carnivorous plants.

The study authors began thinking about the fact that this particular flower grew in an environment that's home to many different other insect-eating plants.

And then, the botanist said, "have these sticky stems." Therefore, he added, he wonders if this could be an indication that the plant might be carnivorous.

To find out if the plants could really take in nutrients from insects, Qianshi Lin, who's currently at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, fed insects, specifically fed fruit flies nitrogen-15 isotopes, in order for the nitrogen to be used as a tracker. Then, he trapped the flies in this plant's stems.

Later, an analysis revealed that nitrogen from the dead insects was certainly getting into the plants. In fact, the Triantha occidentalis' nitrogen, more than half of it comes from prey.

Sticky on Flower Stem

In the study, A new carnivorous plant lineage (Triantha) with a unique sticky-inflorescence trap, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Lin, together with his colleagues says that this is similar to what's observed in other carnivorous plants.

Furthermore, the study investigators showed that the sticky hairs on the flower stem generated a digestive enzyme that's identified to be used by a lot of carnivorous plants.

And when they examined the specimens of this herbarium-preserved plant, the researchers discovered tiny dead insects trapped in the stems.

A similar KUOW report said, according to Harvard University botanist Aaron Ellison, not part of the research team, the discovery was the outcome of a truly nice scientific thinking chain. He also noted that all the other identified carnivorous plants catch prey with the modified leaves' help.

More Carnivorous Plants Than Commonly Thought

Typically, carnivorous plants are keeping their deadly traps quite distant from their flowers, and thus, there is no danger with the accidental killing of pollinators.

However, in this circumstance, it appears like the stem is only able to entrap small insects like midges, smaller bees, or butterflies engaged in pollination.

In their study, the researchers noted that the plant does not just grow in Canada. It can also be found close to various major urban centers on the Pacific coast.

Graham now wonders, based on the discovery, what else is out there that eats insects secretly. It is not that unusual for plants to have sticky stalks, after all, which are believed to be used as a defense mechanism to keep insects from eating the plant.

In conclusion, Graham said he suspects that there might be more carnivorous plants out there than commonly thought.

Related information about carnivorous plants is shown on Zefrank1's YouTube video below: