UNUSUAL PLANTS 
367 
The Sundew. — This plant has round leaves covered 
with long glandular hairs which secrete a sticky substance. 
When an insect alights on a leaf, the hairs bend over and 
hold the victim until it dies, the secretions of the plant mean¬ 
while digesting the soft parts of the insect. When the leaf 
has absorbed this digested food, the hairs release the remain- 
Venus’s Flytrap: — This plant has another way to catch 
insects. The leaves end in a trap-like device in two parts 
which lie flat like the leaves of a book (see Figure 339). 
When an insect alights on one side, the other closes quickly 
and confines it by the interlocking hairs on the edges. 
Digestion and absorption soon take place, after which the 
leaves lie flat again, ready for another insect visitor. 
