Hearts and Hooves and Carnivorous Plants · 3:17pm Feb 5th, 2023
The idea of giving a Venus Fly Trap to your sweetheart for Hearts and Hooves day strikes me as a great idea. Who wouldn’t love to receive such a biological curiosity as a gift from your true love? A plant that has evolved a mechanism to acquire the nutrients it needs by trapping and digesting insects. This episode made me wonder how this species came to be named after the goddess of love, which led me to a fascinating mix of science and mythology in this blog: Bite me Aphrodite – Dionaea Muscipula.
Very few plants prey on animals. For most, it is far easier to leave the messy business of digestion to worms and other micro creatures, and just push your roots down into the soil and suck up the nitrogen, phosphorous and other nutrients left in their excrement. However, not all environments are rich in worm poo. Some plants find themselves in exceptionally nutrient poor spots, such as water-logged ground, where the oxygen level is so low that the microorganisms that would normally break down dead plant material can’t survive. In these niches, plants like the Dionaea muscipula, native to the wetlands of North and South Carolina, have developed innovative tricks to get the chemical elements they need to grow.
Flowers are a traditional romantic gift. Perhaps because, in addition to looking pretty and smelling sweet, they convey an appropriate message as their biological function is to facilitate the union of sperm with eggs. Cross pollination is typically done by insects such as bees foraging for nectar, but it can also be achieved in other ways. Some orchids lure male insects with scents that mimic the pheromones of female. Drakaea or hammer orchids grow flowers to resemble female thynnid wasps, and thus stick their pollen to males trying to carry their new mate away.
If your true love already has a Dionaea, then maybe they would prefer a hammer orchid. But, if size matters in your relationship, then the ultimate romantic gift would have to be the largest known flower: the Rafflesia arnoldii. These one-metre blooms are found in the remote rainforests of Sumatra. They are rare and difficult to find, so presenting one to your beloved would surely signal that you are willing to go to the ends of the Earth for them.
However, as an endangered species, it would be irresponsible to remove it. And they smell of rotting meat in order to attract female flies seeking a carcass on which to lay their eggs. Perhaps a box of chocolates would be better received.
What form of liquid pony magic is Zipp using here to develop her botanical ambitions?
Spare a thought for the oft-forgotten romantic potential of the humble potato.
¡Be careful with carnivorous plants!: