Carnivorous Plants of the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge

The Lower Suwannee Refuge may have as many as 17 species of carnivorous plants belonging to five major groups, and you can easily observe representatives of several of these.  Carnivorous plants are usually found in moist habitats with waterlogged soils, where nutrients are rare or difficult to absorb. They supplement the nutrients in short supply by capturing insects or small invertebrates and digesting their bodies to obtain the needed materials.

The pink sundew (Drosera capillaris) captures insects in the sticky mucilage oozing from its modified leaves. Leaves fold around trapped insects, secrete digestive juices, and absorb the released nutrients. This is one of a cluster of sundews along the refuge’s Tram Ridge Trail near where it approaches a mesic hammock. Another sundew, the dwarf sundew (Drosera brevifolia) may also occur on the refuge.

The blueflower butterwort (Pinguicula caerulea) and yellow butterwort (P. lutea) have conspicuous flowers. Less conspicuous are their leaves which, somewhat like those of sundews trap insects by being sticky. These specimens, along the Tram Ridge Trail, share habitats with the sundews, occupying somewhat drier sites. A third species, the small butterwort (P. pumila) may also occur on the refuge.

Tarflower (Bejaria racemosa) a common shrub on the refuge is conspicuous along the Tram Ridge Trail. Not regarded as a carnivorous plant by some botanists, its sticky flower petals (hence the name) ensnare and kill insects which fall to the ground adding their nutrients to the soil, which are subsequently taken up by the plant’s roots. It is a member of the heath family (Ericaceae) a group that specializes in nutrient poor soils and have symbiotic fungi helping them to obtain essential minerals.

 

The hooded pictherplant (Sarracenia minor) has been recorded from both Levy and Dixie Counties, and may occur on the refuge. Pitcherplants trap insects in their leaves, which are modified into long vertical funnels with tops that resemble flowers. Like other carnivorous plants they occur in normally waterlogged sites. This image is from the University of Central Florida.

These floating bladderworts (Utricularia inflata) can be seen from the observation deck of the small freshwater pond just off the refuge Nature Drive. The filamentous roots contain tiny capsules (bladders) which trap small invertebrates. Hair triggers on the bladders discharge when activated by prey swimming nearby, producing a suction that draws prey inside where they are digested. The bladders are said to be among the most intricate structures in the entire plant world. Up to nine other species of bladderworts may be found in waterlogged soils of the refuge.