Both my Cape Sundew and Sarracenia hybrid are flowering.

In September of last year I found myself at a county fair in a small village next to my house. I found a stall selling a range of carnivorous plants and immediately spent of all my money. Although one did not survive the winter, the rest seem to be doing well since the beginning of spring. So well in fact two of them have started to flower.

The Cape Sundew (Drosera capensis) traps its pray with tentacle like leaves covered in sap-like droplets on their leaves called mucilage. Insects are attracted to the plant and get stuck on the leaves which triggers the plant to curl its leaves, wrapping up its prey and eventually it digests and absorbs the victims nutrient. The flowers on the plant will open one at a time for one day and close by mid afternoon. The flowers can also self-pollinate upon closing and produce large amount of seeds that are released when the flower dies. 

The second of my carnivores plants to flower is a Sarracenia hybrid. Native to North America this  plant lures its prey with bright colours, scent, and drugged nectar. The prey then falls into the pitcher whose walls are covered with a waxy surface preventing the prey from escaping. At the bottom of the pitcher there is a pool of liquid containing digestive enzymes and wetting agents that drown the pray and begin to digest it. They can produces between 300-600 seeds which takes between 3-5 years to reach maturity. Most of the flowers are scented and some can be quite unpleasant like S. flava who’s flower has a very strong odour resembling cat urine. I honestly don’t have any clue what my hybrid is going to smell like and I am kinda getting worried.

Pictures of my other carnivorous plants