Pkoto: James's Press Agency. 



THE COMMON SUNDEW (Drosera rotundifolia) 



The leaf has many club-shaped hairs or tentacles, the heads 

 of which are extremely sensitive to touch. They secrete 

 glistening sticky fluid, and there may be two hundred on a 

 single leaf. Particles of sand, wood or glass will produce no 

 secretion of the glands, but a caught insect or a small piece of 

 meat will do so (see next illustration). 



Photo: J. J. \\'<ird. 



HOW THE SUNDEW CAPTURES INSECTS 



Another illustration of the sundew's tentacles. It is the drops 

 of sticky fluid on their ends which serve to attract insects. An 

 unfortunate insect alighting on one causes the tentacles to bend 

 over and pin down the struggling victim, in this case an ant. 

 Digestion follows, and after a few days, when the tentacles 

 bend back again, only a shrivelled husk is left. 



Photos: S. Leonard fiastin. 



VENUS FLY-TRAP (Dion&a muscipula} 



The first photograph shows the bristle-like hairs of the fly-trap open. When the insect touches the bristles, the two halves of the 

 leaves clap together in something less than a second and the insect is captured, as shown in the second photograph (see also colour plate 

 for illustration of the Venus fly-trap plant). 



