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Stylidium hispidum (the white butterfly triggerplant) is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the genus Stylidium (family Stylidiaceae). S. hispidum is endemic to Australia and is found primarily in southwest Western Australia near Perth. This species is a basally rosetted triggerplant with greyish, linear leaves growing up to three cm. The scape is reddish, from six to thirty cm tall ending in a somewhat branched raceme giving rise to white or cream-colored flowers, which have red spots near the throat of the flower. The primary habitat for S. hispidum includes jarrah forests, gravelly loams, and light sandy soils.[1]
Unusual flower with five petals
Pollination is achieved through the use of the sensitive "trigger" (a floral column, in which the stamen and style are fused) that snaps forward quickly in response to touch, covering the insect in pollen. All triggerplants can also be described as being protocarnivorous because the glandular trichomes on the scape and flower parts can trap, kill, and digest small insects. It is unknown if this plant engages in nutrient uptake after proteases digest the captured insects, though if it was confirmed, this species would be considered truly carnivorous.[2][3][4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Erickson, Rica. (1958). Triggerplants. Perth: Paterson Brokensha Pty. Ltd.
- ^ Darnowski, Douglas W. (2002). Triggerplants. Australia: Rosenberg Publishing.
- ^ Erickson, Rica. (1961). An introduction to triggerplants. Australian Plants, 1(9): 15-17. (Available online: HTML)
- ^ Darnowski, D.W., Carroll, D.M., Płachno, B., Kabanoff, E., and Cinnamon, E. (2006). Evidence of protocarnivory in triggerplants (Stylidium spp.; Stylidiaceae). Plant Biology, 8(6): 805-812. (Abstract online: HTML)
