We all know Pitcher plant, whose leaves have evolved into cage-like "sweet traps".
Like the emotional, money-cheaters we encounter in human life, Nepenthes secretes an irresistible sweetness to attract animals, especially insects and some invertebrates, who are tempted by sweetness to fall into the cage and be eaten clean.
Two juvenile salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) are being slowly digested in a bell-shaped cage of Nepenthes
The rich nitrogen elements in the animal body have benefited Nepenthes, and they have also evolved a dramatic relationship with a variety of organisms - many animals such as shrews and bats have visited to taste honey, leaving feces, anyway, it is all nutrition, And Nepenthes is not picky.
Shrews shake on the "toilet", eating honey and fertilizing at the same time
Recently, scientists have discovered a new species of Nepenthes on the island of Borneo (in Indonesia), which has subverted our past understanding of carnivorous plants.
Luck brings discoveries
When the researchers randomly selected a previously unexplored mountain to start climbing, they noticed that these plants were undoubtedly " Nepenthes , but did not grow " pig cages " .
But there is no "pitcher" that grows "pitcher"
At first, the researchers rightly thought it was some nepenthes that had been buried because of landslides, and didn't care. As they continued to climb upwards, they gradually found that all the Pitchers here had no cages.
Well? Did these nepenthes give up eating meat?
They sprouted a tree, ah, three feet below the ground, and the little red cage appeared.
Three feet below
The researchers dug out two more, three more... It was finally determined that this was a new species. It is distinctly different from all other known species, which grow unremarkably on the ground, while white leaves that have completely lost chlorophyll grow underground, as well as "cages" up to 11 centimeters long.
The researchers named the nepenthes pudica: it derives from the Latin adjective pudicus, meaning shy, to reflect its behavior of putting traps underground and hiding them from sight.
How did their new strategy of trying to dominate the underground evolve?
If you don't have anything to eat on the ground, go underground
N. mimosa grows on top of relatively dry ridges at altitudes of 1100-1300 meters, and for about half of the year it is the harsh conditions of birds don't, researchers speculate that this may be why it evolved to move traps underground.
"Cage" about 11 cm long
Underground caves have more stable environmental conditions, including humidity, and may also have more potential prey during dry periods.
This plant forms specialized underground buds with completely white, chlorophyll-free leaves. In addition to their lack of normal green pigments, these Nepenthes remain the same red trap cage – in addition to stockpiling water, trap subterranean animals in the soil, usually ants, mites and beetle larvae.
And there was water, and hunting
Interestingly, in addition to the ants and beetles that are digested by poor swimming skills, there are also some living organisms that adapt to this microenvironment and live comfortably in pig cages, including mosquito larvae, nematodes and worms, which also play a role in helping Nepenthes decompose prey and win-win situations.
Write at the end
These unknown nepenthes in remote areas show us the adaptability of organisms, all in order to survive better. Therefore, sometimes we don't have to worry too much about the sky, even if we make it difficult to survive the surface disaster, life will always find a way.
The author thanks you for your attention (¬_¬)