International Carnivorous Plant Society

Carnivorous Plant Newsletter Archive

 

Nocturnal and diurnal digestive responses in Byblis gigantea, Drosophyllum lusitanicum, and Roridula gorgonias

Gregory Allan

Carniv. Pl. Newslett. 48(2):64-73
Published 9 May 2019

https://doi.org/10.55360/cpn482.ga994

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Summary

Byblis Salisb. is a highly understudied carnivorous genus currently consisting of eight recognized species – now with motile adhesive traps (Allan 2019 [p 51 this issue])). In particular, the carnivorous syndrome exhibited by the genus is imperfectly understood when compared to other carnivorous plant genera. The leaves, stems, pedicels, and sepals bear stalked glands and digestive glands. The stalked glands vary in length, even within individual plants, the longest stalks reaching 2.6 mm in length (McPherson 2010). Each stalked gland bears a droplet of mucilage, assumed to be sugar-based and water-soluble (Bauer et al. 2018), that is responsible for prey-capture. The far more numerous digestive glands sit in rows in longitudinal grooves on the epidermis (Lloyd 1942) (see Fig. 1) and are usually assumed to secrete digestive fluids in response to prey-capture, as well as to absorb the products of digestion (Cross et al. 2018). The stalked glands are capable of collapsing in response to detection of animal proteins, apparently due to a rapid loss of cell turgidity. In consequence, prey can be brought within the range of the secretions of the digestive glands.

Keywords: Nocturnal, diurnal, digestive responses, Byblis gigantea, Drosophyllum lusitanicum, Roridula gorgonias

Article Citation

Gregory Allan. 2019. Nocturnal and diurnal digestive responses in Byblis gigantea, Drosophyllum lusitanicum, and Roridula gorgonias. Carniv. Pl. Newslett. 48(2):64-73. https://doi.org/10.55360/cpn482.ga994

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