Plant eats worms now

Here is a little respite from all the usual CES news that has flooded our site for the past few days – and while no real tech is involved here, it does bring a smile to our faces since the tables have turned. Worms that used to be the scourge of many a plant are now on the receiving end of some carnivorous goodness, as scientists managed to uncover the underground mystery of how a plant can survive on sunlight and grow leaves while they lie beneath the earth. Flowering plants of the genus Philcoxia are currently the only known plants that has subterranean leaves, according to Rafael Oliveira, a plant biologist at the State University of Campinas in Brazil. These leaves function as traps for tiny roundworms, also known as nematodes, where the nematodes are vital food for the plant in order to survive in central Brazil’s savannas. I guess this places it in the select group of 0.2% of flowering plant species that can digest meat, especially if one considers microorganisms as a prey type. Otherwise, this is a one-off species that is clearly interesting to read up about.

Edwin Kee
Categories: General
Tags: Science