Julia Cooke

I was recently asked to answer a question for Ask Fuzzy about how carnivorous plants move to capture their prey (read all about how they do so here).  I thoroughly enjoyed researching this piece and explaining the different mechanisms plants use to move.  I became interested in carnivorous plants after writing a short paper about the gorgeous Western Australian pitcher plants, Cephalotus follicularis after seeing a tiny frog move between pitchers.  These pitcher plants have no moving parts, but many carnivorous plant do!  [Update:  A more recent Ask Fuzzy article by Dr Matthew Bulbert explains how and why animals mimic ants.  Read all about it here.]

This is the Western Australian pitcher plant, Cephalotus follicularis (with a tiny frog!). Unlike many other carnivorous plants, it doesn’t have any moving parts, but instead absorbs nutrients from insects which drown in the liquid held in the modified leaf. Photo: Julia Cooke.