(ENG) trumpet pitchers

Biology
(NL) trompetbekerplanten
(LATIN) sarracenia

Lisa Klessens
CLASS TV1M
 Content

o Taxonomy p. 3
o Food and digestion p. 4
o Breathing and respiration p. 5
o Sense and sensibility p. 6
o Reproduction and offspring p. 7
o Environment p. 8
o Did you know..? p. 9
o Sources p. 10
 Taxonomy

Kingdom
The trumpet pitcher belongs to the kingdom plantae. That kingdom is also called as kingdom
Metaphyta. This kingdom consists of all plants we know, which is why this kingdom is realy
important in life.
Phylum
It belongs to the Anthophyta (the flowering plants). It is the youngest phylum that exists, but
still the largest. The most important characteristics of the Anthophyta are, flowers, ovules
with two integuments around it and double fertilization which leads to formation.
Class
The plant belongs to the Dicotyledons, That is because the trumpet pitcher has two
cotyledons. A cotyledon is a seed leaf, which is the first leaf of a plant to develop.
Order
The trumpet pitcher belongs to nephentales. Which is an order of carnivorous flowering plants
in the Cronquist system of plant classification. The Cronquist system is the taxonomic
classification system of flowering plants.
Family
Sarraceniaceae is the family of the carnivorous pitcher plants, so also of the trumpet pitcher
plant. In that family are for example the white-topped pitcher plant, the yellow trumpets, the
trumpet-leaved pitcher plant. This family consists of 43 species in total. Sarracenia which
consists of 10 species. Darlingtonia, which consists of one species and Heliamphora, which
consists of 23 species.
Genus
Sarracenia is a genus of carnivorous plants, comprising of 8 to
11 species. The plant’s leaves have evolved into a funnel or
pitcher shape in order to trap insects.

Species
The sarracenia rubra species consists of at least three species,
sarracenia rubra subsp, gulfensis sarracenia alabamensis and
sarracenia alabamensis subsp. There are two subspecies, wherryi
and jonesii.

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 food and digestion

Food
Trumpet pitcher plants grow in soils where the soil does not has enough minerals and is too
acidic to survive. This is the case with all the carnivorous plants. But pitcher plants are smart,
they do not rely on photosynthetic glucose to survive, they supplement available nutrients and
minerals with the constituents of their prey.
Every pitcher plant has a few ways with
which they attract their prey.
The pitcher plant has a cupped leaf. That
leaf contains a lot of bacteria or
digestive enzymes, this attracts insects
such as flies. When an insect flies into
the pitcher plant, it is logic that the
insect flies out again. Which is why each
plant contains of characteristics that
prevent that. waxy scales, protruding
aldehyde crystals, cuticular folds, inward
and downward pointing hairs or guard-
cell-originating on the inside of the plant
to make sure the insect is not able to
climb out.

Digestion
Inside the pitcher traps, there are small
bodies of liquid. Those bodies are called
Phytotelmata. They drown the insect, and ensure that the insects it’s body dissolves.
Trumpet pitcher plants grow in soils where the soil does not has enough minerals and is too
acidic to survive. This is the case with all the carnivorous plants. But pitcher plants are smart,
they do not rely on photosynthetic glucose to survive, they supplement available nutrients and
minerals with the constituents of their prey. That is the digestion system of the impressive
plant. In this way, the pitcher plant can survive.

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 Breathing and respiration

photosynthesis
The photosynthesis process of plants is an
extremely important process for all living things.
Because without this process we are not able to
survive.
Plants need water, Carbon dioxide and sunlight. They get water from their xylem, plants
absorb carbon dioxide due to their stomata and the chlorophyll in their leaves take care of
the sunlight a plant need for photosynthesis. The process take place in the chloroplasts of a
plant. Photosynthesis is used to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose. Oxygen is
made as a by-product. Photosynthesis takes place 24 hours a day.

respiration
respiration is the opposite of photosynthesis, but this does not make it less important. It
breaks down food to release energy. Even though roots are under the soil, they still carry out
oxygen for which they need respiration. They find the oxygen in the spaces between the soil
particles. Plants breath through the tiny pores under the surface of their leaves called
stomata. The stomata opens or closes to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the
atmosphere. The plant takes glucose and convert it into carbon dioxide, water and energy.
Respiration takes place in all cells of every organism and only during the day.

Carnivorous plants can just like other plants, photosynthesize, and they have a respiration
system. But why do they need than other food too?
A carnivorous has both decreased photosynthesis and increased respiration. This makes the
potential for growth high. And, it has to do with their habitat. Carnivorous plants grow in
habitats where the soil is poor, so they supplement available nutrients and minerals with the
constituents of their prey.

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 Sense and sensibility

There are lots of things special about the pitcher plant.

But, the mouth is no doubt the most special part of the plant.
It is absolutely miraculous how the plant is able to catch all
the different insects that are the prey of this plant.

The mouth
The mouth is not just a normal mouth, it has special abilities to attract prey. These abilities
are extremely important for the trumpet pitcher plant. Those abilities are traps. The plant
has by example a cupped leaf which attracts insects such as flies. Insects fly into the plant
because of the attractive smell, shape and the glistering colouring. When an insect has flown
into the mouth, the insect is not able to fly out again. This, due to the characteristics that
prevent that. waxy scales, protruding
aldehyde crystals, cuticular folds, inward and
downward pointing hairs or guard-cell-
originating on the inside of the plant.
So, the insect is absolutely stuck inside the
plant, certainly because there is a special
liquid in the plant which stops the plant from
going out too. But the prey will despite of all
those traps still trying to go out. This costs the
poor insect all its energy. Causing the trumpet
pitcher’s play has to surrender to its destiny.
This system works excellent for the smart
plant. Because this is their only way of
surviving in the nutrients poor soils where
they grow. The trumpet pitcher plant gets the necessary nutrients out of the insects that are the
victim of the ruthless plant.

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 Reproduction and offspring

some flowers have male and female reproductive parts. This is the case with the flowers of a
trumpet pitcher. Those flowers are called bisexual flowers, or monecious flowers. When
flowers contain either female or male parts in the flower, they are called unisexual flowers.
In the text below you can find some information about the different male and female parts.

Male reproductive parts

Plants have many different ways of reproduction.
Stamen is the male reproductive part of the flower,
it consists of the anther and the filament. The
anther produces pollen grains. Each matured pollen
grain contains a tube cell consisting of a tube
nucleus, and two male gametes.

Female reproductive parts

Carpel is the female reproductive part of the flower.
The top part of the carpel is called the stigma.
The stigma is supported by the style, the base part
of the carpel is called the ovary.
Ovary contains of at least one ovule, each ovule has a
female gamete.

Fertilization
For fertilization to take place, pollen grains need to be transferred from the stamen to the
stigma. If this transfer takes place in the same place, it is called self-pollination. If this
transfer takes place from one flower to another, it is called cross pollination.
That transfer can be done by different ways. Wind, water, insects or animals.
After the pollen grains land on the stigma, the tube cell produces a pollen tube through the
style into the stigma. The male gametes travel along with the tube nucleus through the
pollen tube. After they reach the ovule, one of the male gametes fuses with the female
gametes leading to fertilization.

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 Environment

Trumpet pitcher plants are mostly found in wetlands which are nitrogen poor soils, that lay
in warm areas. They can be found in the southeast of the VS. More information about this in
the text below.

Wetlands
Let’s make one thing clear, most of the wetlands are not
suitable for carnivorous plants. The wetlands that are, are
usually acidic freshwater wetlands. But meanwhile,
carnivorous plants sometimes also grow in areas that are
completely dry for almost the whole year. Those dry areas
have extremely sandy soils with very less nutrients in it. But
most of the carnivorous plants still live in certain types of
wetlands.

Nitrogen poor soils

Carnivorous plants only live in nitrogen poor soils. Which is realy hard for the plants, because
here, the chemicals that a plant need to survive are there only in short supply. That is why
they grow more slowly than usual, reproduce less and are more prone to disease. This is
absolutely terrible for carnivorous plants and also the reason why they were dying.
But meanwhile, carnivorous plants have adapted their selves to their environment. This is
also the reason why they are eating insects. They can’t get enough nutrients out of the
ground, so they eat insects and obtain the nutrients out of the insects.

The threat of carnivorous plants

Carnivorous plants have an distressingly big problem, because there environment is slowly
disappearing. This is particularly due to humans. They transform a lot of wetlands into
agriculture or infrastructure. Only three to five percent of all the wetlands remains.

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 Did you know..?

The trumpet pitcher plant is a realy interesting plant.

There are lots of things which you don’t expect from the plant.
Those things are describes in these facts.

o Carnivorous plants are quite rare and unique.

Yes, carnivorous plants are quite rare. This is because carnivorous plants are different
in comparison with ‘regular’ plants. Because those plants consume nutrients from the
soil, and Carnivorous plants live in nutrients-poor soils.

o Trumpet pitcher plants have a lot of methods to catch prey

due to all their traps, pitcher plants are successful in catching prey.
Those traps in the plant attract the plant its prey and keeps it there.

o Where you can find the plant.

trumpet pitcher plants are found in the Eastern United States. From the southeast and
along the coastline up through British Colombia.

o The habitat of the Trumpet pitcher plant.

The most of the time, pitcher plants are found in the wettest part of swamps.
they live in areas that are prone to fires and, can survive fire under some
circumstances.

o Features
pitcher plants look like pitchers. Inside, there is a pool of
water. Trapped insects that are decaying together with the
nectar from the ‘lid’, attracts other insects such as flies and
butterflies.

o Specific preferences
Trumpet pitcher plants do not have all the insect as enemy.
Spiders, for example, can even find shelter under the lid of
the plant. And some insect larvae such as mosquitoes live in
the plant itself. And small frogs hide in the plant, eating flies
that are attracted to the plant.

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 Sources

http://creationwiki.org/Pitcherplant#Reproduction
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201` 10214052023AAwFCWa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2XLR638Acw&t=14s
http://sciencing.com/pitcher-plant-5385098.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ycl2E9r-_o
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-monecious-and-bisexual-plants
http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-a-carnivorous-plant.html
http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq4040.html
http://www.carnivorous--plants.com/pitcher-plant.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitcher_plant

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