Sundews, of the genus Drosera, are Britain's only native carnivorous plant - although it has to be said that apparently a number of smaller Sarracenias, or pitcher plants, have become naturalized in some of the peat bogs in Southern Ireland. Growing in nutrient-poor substrates, such as sphagnum bogs, carnivorous plants in general cope with the lack of fertile growing conditions by catching, digesting and absorbing the nutrients from (mainly) flying insects. A number of insect-capturing mechanisms have evolved in the various families of carnivorous plant - many of these as 'passive' traps, as for example in the pitcher plants, where insects fall into ...  Read the complete review

Nearly everyone knows what a Venus fly-trap is, but that normally is the limits of their knowledge on carnivorous plants. Little do they know that there is a whole world of plants that due to their habitats being harsh and nearly inhospitable have evolved so that they can acquire much needed nutrients from other sources, namely other insects. There are Venus fly-traps, Pitcher plants, Tropical pitcher plants, Bladderworts, butterworts, and last but not least, sundews. ~~Description~~ Sundews can be found all over the world, from the harsh dry climate of Australia, to our temperate rainy climate. Britain even has a few native species of ...  Read the complete review