HOW PLAJVTf< USE AiMMALt<. 25 



8\viiuiiiingcrenture, the lobes close fjuddenly sind sharply, render- 

 ing escape inipossil)le. A fluid is secreted from certain glands, 

 which is said to dissolve and digest the nitrogenous materials 

 contained in the bodies of the captured larvae or crustaceans. 

 Several inteiesting arrangements for the ca})ture of }trey, and the 

 absor[)tion and assimilation of the portions suitable for food, can 

 only be explained by the use of figures, but enough has been said 

 to show that aquatic as well as land animals have vegetable foes 

 which lie in wait for them anil lure them to destruction. 



3. The Cape of Good Hope furnishes another genus (Rori- 

 dula) of these carnivorous plants, which embraces two species. 

 These (R. dentata and R. gorgonias) have somewhat woody stems 

 and branches. The leaves are long and narrow, tapering to a 

 long point, and are concave on both the upper and lower sur- 

 faces. They are densely covered with tentacles, which dift'er 

 greatly in length. The glands also vary much in size, and are 

 supported by pedicels. In their native condition they secrete 

 abundantly a viscid sul)stance which adheres to insects and pre- 

 vents their escai)e. When examined the leaves are often found 

 to be covered with the remains (jf the captives. 



4. A fourth genus (Byblis), containing three or four species, 

 occurs in Western Australia. Its leaves resemble those of the 

 preceding genus, being several inches in length, acuminate and 

 somewhat flattened. Numerous glands cover the surface and 

 the apex, which terminates in a small knob. The bodies of in- 

 sects adhering to the glands show their use. 



5- The best known, as well as the largest genus of insect- 

 destroying plants is the Sundew (Drosera), which embraces 

 fully one hundred species, scattered over the whole globe where- 

 ever marshes are lound. Six species occur between Hudson 

 Bay and Florida, of which four — Drosera rotundifolia, D. 

 Anglica, 1). intermedia Americana and D. linearis — are abund- 

 ant in Canada. The most common species is D. rotundifolia, L. 

 which inhabits the peat bogs and marshes, from Newfoundland, 

 Labrador and Nova Scotia westward to the Pacific and north to 



