Top 20 Carnivorous Plants That Eat Animals

They defy laws of nature, they are deadly plants. They will surprise you with the way they evolved to eat animals. Often with leaves that move in surprising ways, carnivorous plants grapple up insects. From the misty jungles of Asia to the summits of Venezuela, you'll find dangerous plants that are starved of nutrients ready to prey on animals. Here we present the top 20 carnivorous plants that eat animals. 1. Cobra Lily Like other carnivorous plants, it grows in places with very poor soil nutrients and other sustenance The cobra lily is actually a lily and not a cobra. Its name is derived from its snake-like appearance. And the similarities don't just end there. Just like a snake, it prefers its food living. It's quite an ingenious plant that not only entices insects with sweet secretions to slip down its wall but also has numerous false exits. Once inside, the insect is broken down by the digestive fluids and the plant absorbs the nutrients. 2. Tropical Pitcher The tropical pitcher is among the different types of pitcher plants that create some of the largest carnivorous plants in the world. The giant pitcher inhabits the tropical forests of Malaysia, China, and Indonesia. It's also called a monkey cup because researchers noticed monkeys often drink rainwater from it. The nephathenus is well-designed to catch unsuspecting insects and small vertebrates. The pitcher's inner walls have sweet nectar and wax-producing glands. Nectar lures the prey while smooth wax slides them in. The fluid absorbs and digests the prey, and the plant ingests the nutrients. 3. Bladderwort This is a free-floating plant with no roots but has flowers and a rigid stem. The bladderwort genus contains around 220 widely distributed species. It is also called the eutruchilorea. Bladderwort is the only predator that uses a bubble trap. The underwater bubble and leaves have small surface traps called the triggers. The trigger hair sends a signal when the prey touches it. The bubble then opens and pulls in the prey along with the water. Bladderworts can only trap and digest small prey like protozoa. It is dubbed the fastest plant in the world. 2. The moccasin plant Originally discovered in southwest Australia, the moccasin plant has all the features of a plant that eats meat. It has a sweet scent that attracts insects, luring them into its moccasin-shaped pitchers, where the unfortunate insect is slowly eaten and digested. To further confuse its prey, the moccasin pitchers are translucent, which makes bugs to knock themselves silly as they try to escape. Moccasin is an unusual plant because it's more related to flowering plants than carnivorous plants. 1. Genlysia Unlike the other plants on this list, Genlysia, or corkscrew plant, doesn't hunt for insects. Its main diet consists of protozoa and other microscopic animals which it attracts and digests using its specialized leaves that grow under the water. The underwater leaves that look like roots are long and pale. This poisonous plant also has another batch of normal-looking green leaves that sprout above the ground and are used for photosynthesis. It is found in the semi-aquatic regions of Africa and both Central and South America. 2. Trigger plants The name says it all. The trigger plant's Stylidium species is a suspectable carnivorous plant, easily triggered by any insect or object landing on its flower column. This plant genus has over 130 species commonly found in Australia and some in Asia. The trigger plant genus' name, Stylidium, is derived from a Greek word, stylo, referring to the flower's united reproductive organs. Like many other plants that eat insects, Stylidium has stalked mucous plants that secrete digestive enzymes, which it uses to break down its prey. 3. Waterwheel plant This undoubtedly ruthless, magnificent carnivorous aquatic plant uses a trap to eat small water vertebrates. The plant has 6-inch-long free-floating stems and leaves traps about 2-3 mm. The traps are attached to the air chamber of the stem, which allows it to float. The two parts of the trap have the ability to slam sharply like a steel trap. The outward-directed traps are covered with thin hairs that close up in milliseconds when a victim is close. It behaves like it has its own brain. 2. Tryphophyllum This is the largest carnivorous plant native to Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. It's also called Liana. Tryphophyllum's most distinguishable feature is its remarkable size. These extraordinary measurements make it the largest carnivorous plant in the world. Despite their ability to trap humans, very little is still known about this plant and scientists are still trying to determine what it prefers to eat. However, it can still eat small insects. 1. Sundew Before we begin, click that like button to inspire us. Also, subscribe to our channel and click the notification bell to be inspired by this type of ultimate facts! This European insectivorous plant is also known as Drosera. They're among 130 species of Drosera known to science. It's easily noticed during the summer thanks to its small white flowers growing on long flower stalks. It has hairy leaves that release liquid-like dangerous glue and digestive enzymes. Insects are attracted by the glue and trapped by the hairs in the leaves' surfaces. The enzymes then begin to digest their prey. Undigested food later falls on the ground. The leaves then take the usual form. The hairs are covered with sticky juice and a new hunt begins. 1. Trumpet Pitcher This pitcher belongs to the Saracena family, commonly found in America. It has bright flowers and leaves decorated with capillary lines. Its envelope-like leaves secrete sweet juice that lures insects into their trap. Saracena is a plant that eats insects in a canning way. The plant's leaves are covered with hairs that only allow insects to move in one direction. The leaves have a funnel shape that prevents rainwater from entering the plant and ensuring digestive enzymes are not diluted. Once trapped, the prey simply dissolves in the juices and the plant absorbs the produced nutrients. 2. Brachynia reducta Just like animals and humans, plants also have families. Brachynia reducta belongs to the Bromeliad family together with the pineapple. It has long, slender pitches that reflect ultraviolet light that attracts insects. Like many others on this list, Brachynia releases a sweet smell that is irresistible to an average bug. And that's how this dangerous plant ends the lives of insects in Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil. Initially, botanists didn't know this harmless looking plant was a carnivore until recently when they discovered it has digestive enzymes associated with deadly plants that eat animals. 3. Dewey Pine This is definitely not a pine. Scientifically known as Drosophilum luminescum, it is the rarest carnivorous plant that grows on Earth. It is indigenous to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. It grows mainly in infertile, acidic soils. Much like other dangerous plants that can eat animals, its leaves are modified to trap prey. The mucilage-covered leaves produce a sweet scent that attracts and traps its prey. The digestive enzymes then break down the insects and the leaves absorb nutrients. Despite its mucilage-covered leaves, Dewey Pine thrives in dry areas, thus making it ecologically rare. 2. Heliumphora It is a carnivorous plant with modified leaves that are fused into tubular shape. Similar to the trumpet pitcher, it also has mechanisms of attracting, trapping, and digesting insects. Heliumphora's modified leaves also control the amount of water that gets into the small pitcher, hindering the dilution of digestive enzymes. Though not commonly known, Heliumphora typically feeds like the trumpet pitcher. It's just like the other giant plants that eat meat. 1. Roridula Native to South Africa, Roridula is a simple carnivorous plant, but with a twist. It has sticky leaves like the sundew but does not have digestive enzymes. The Roridula captures insects and leaves the task of digestion to Pomeridia roridula, a bug species from which they have a symbiotic relationship. So how does the Roridula really benefit? Well, the Roridula absorbs and digests the insects and releases nutrient-rich excretions, which the Roridula later absorbs. Do you think this plant is evil by trapping food it doesn't eat? 2. Byblos This handsome green predator inhabits northern Australia and south of New Guinea. It's also called the rainbow plant due to the flashy appearance of its mucilage-covered leaves on a sunny day. The surface of its narrow, long leaves have glands that produce sweet juice and digestive enzymes, similar to other insect-eating plants, and small animals are trapped here. The Aboriginal Australians believed the Byblos can even trap and digest a person, but even after this story, they were not afraid of using the Byblos leaves as a source of glue. 1. Butterwort Similar to the sundew habitat, you can find this green predator, also called the pinguluku. It has large, tapered leaves covered with glossy, glue-like mass. The Butterwort's hunting process and nutrition is similar to the sundew. Insects mistake the glossy, glue-like mass for water. They then stick to the mass and are wrapped inward for the digestive secretions to digest the prey. The plant absorbs the attained minerals, and the leaf unfolds, waiting for new guests. There are about 80 species of these plants that eat insects in America, Europe, and Asia. 2. The Venus Flytrap Also known as the Deinia muscipula, the Venus Flytrap is among predatory plants. It catches its prey mysteriously without special equipment. This green monster grows in the humid temperature climates on the Atlantic coast of the USA. This plant seems to have its own mind and knows the difference between a living creature and something else, and when an insect is caught, the trap remains closed for the food to be completely digested. By the way, this wonder plant can be purchased in flower shops for house decoration and gardens in getting rid of annoying insects. 3. Caterpissus verdatoriania Famously known as the Jungle Lantern, these pentaludimate insect-eating plants are native to southern Brazil and Central America. The Jungle Lantern is a type of bromelia, known for its iridescent yellow flower. It is also covered with a powdery wax that makes the color more brighter. The Jungle Lantern has an urn-like structure filled with digestive fluids, where insects are trapped and digested. Despite its ability to digest insects, scientists still argue whether this plant is a true carnivorous. 2. Yellow Pitcher Like the Trumpet Pitcher, the Yellow Pitcher also belongs to the Sarsenia family. This variety is considered one of the tallest Pitcher plants in the world. It has a pitcher-shaped leaves with sweet-smelling nectar, which it primarily uses to attract insects, trap them in, and eventually digest them alive. Unlike other Pitcher plants, the Yellow Pitcher is easily distinguishable from the distinct yellow-green color. Owing to its tall size, the Yellow Pitcher is among the giant plants that eat insects. 1. Phyllocoxia mimesis To sum up our list today is Phyllocoxia mimesis, a worm-eating plant epidemic to the Brazilian savanna regions. This poisonous plant with underwater leaves about the size of spineheads traps and digests its unsuspecting prey and uses the acquired nutrients as fertilizer to the soil. Which plant is the scariest? Have you ever seen any of them in real life? Let us know in the comment section! Like always, if you enjoyed it, be sure to give us a big thumbs up, and leave us some love in the comment section. To keep up to date with all of our awesome videos, be sure to hit subscribe and turn your notifications on to never miss a thing! Until next time, do take good care of yourself!