The Wonderful World of Carnivorous Plants by Suzanne Houghton
CSIRO Publishing
The Wonderful World of Carnivorous Plants: guest author/illustrator post by Suzanne Houghton at Paperbark Words blog
Growing up I was always surrounded by plants. My dad loved his garden and I was often helping out in any way I could. It was no surprise then that, when I began my art career, plants and especially flowers would be a recurring theme in my work.
I had been thinking about creating a children’s book on plants for quite some time but with the vast number of species to choose from it was always hard to decide which direction to take. There was also quite a few books already on the market so to find a theme not already covered was another hurdle.
Then I remembered the Venus flytraps we had growing up. I loved watching their little traps open and close. I thought they were fascinating and knew kids would love them too. Finally I had the perfect topic for a picture book.
But that is where my knowledge of carnivorous plants ended. Before even attempting to write a story about them I would have to do some research. Let me tell you, I now know more about carnivorous plants than I ever thought I would and I find them even more fascinating than when I was little.
The first thing I discovered was that Australia has more species of carnivorous plants than anywhere in the world and they are all so different. Some have snap traps, some tiny sticky hairs and others have pitcher traps that fill with water. There are even some that live under water. I was definitely hooked.
Originally I planned a story with a more sinister feel. Focusing on how the plants kill their prey but the more research I did and the more I learned about these plants the more I realised there was a lot more that needed to be shared.
Carnivorous plants are survivors, learning to thrive in the harshest of places. Where water and soil nutrients are lacking, these plants have evolved ways to feed to get the sustenance they require. They cannot chase their food like other carnivores, so over time these plants have developed elaborate lures to attract their prey and clever traps to ensure their dinner doesn’t escape.
I really wanted to show how amazing these plants were but also how important they are to our ecosystem. Not only are they great for keeping insect populations down but there are in fact, some animals that rely on these plants for food and vice versa.
In Borneo for example there is a particular tropical pitcher with a wide bowl shaped trap and over hanging lid. This lid produces a fatty liquid that attracts a tiny mammal called a mountain shrew. It is never in any danger, however. You see, while the mountain shrew happily rests on the rim of the plant feeding, its droppings fall right into the pitcher trap and this is exactly what the plant is after. It survives by digesting the nutrients in the droppings. An unlikely friendship but an important one.
Doing my research I was also very curious about pollination. How do these plants manage to attract insects to their flowers without killing them. It seems these clever creatures have worked out how to tackle that as well. The majority of carnivorous plants do produce flowers, but they are on long stems away from any traps. That way flying insects take care of pollination while crawling insects become a tasty feast. It seems they have thought of everything. If in fact a plant thinks?
Through the process of creating this book I have become more captivated by these amazing plants. Not only are they totally fascinating but they are truly beautiful. The colours and variations of the species are simply stunning.
I really hope that readers not only learn a thing or two about carnivorous plants and can look past the unusual feeding methods to appreciate just how wonderful they really are. Surely Charles Darwin can’t be wrong.
The Wonderful World of Carnivorous Plants at CSIRO Publishing
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