Endemic Carnivorous Plants Endangered|食蟲植物造型獨特 民眾植栽新寵

When people mention carnivorous plants, most people think of tropical pitcher plants or Venus flytraps. These unique plants depend on their feeding mechanisms for nutrients. Taiwan has many indigenous carnivorous plants and conservationists want to bring awareness to them. The red dots on the cliff are spoon-leaved sundews, a carnivorous plant common in Taiwan. The drops at the end of the tentacles are not dewdrops. The drops are sticky and trap insects. They have carnivorous feeding mechanisms that allow them to get the nutrients they need. They excrete a sticky mucus to attract insects or flies. The insects think the mucus is water or nectar, and are quickly trapped. The plant is not immune to the threat of herbicides, cementation or human development. The golden bladderwort, an aquatic carnivorous plant, is also threatened by human development as well as water pollution. This is the golden bladderwort. It is rarely found in the Greater Taipei area. Its primary habitat is in this lake. Based on field observation records, golden bladderwort can now only be found around Xizhi's Dream Lake. Any living thing that can only be found in one place is endangered. Zhubei's Lianhua Temple Wetlands is home to another endemic carnivorous plant. This is the only natural habitat of the drosera indica. The Hsinchu branch of the Society of Wilderness sends volunteers to manually remove weeds there to keep the plant alive. After this barrier dam was built, soil and rocks began accumulating. Following landification, grass began growing. This puts an enormous amount of pressure on carnivorous plants. The natural habitats of Taiwan's carnivorous plants are disappearing. Conservationists hope everyone can pay more attention to the plight of endemic carnivorous plants so they can continue to exist in Taiwan.