Stylidium scandens
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| Stylidium scandens | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 Curtis's Botanical Magazine print of Stylidium scandens.
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| Stylidium scandens R. Br., 1831 |
Stylidium scandens (the climbing triggerplant) is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the genus Stylidium (family Stylidiaceae). S. scandens is endemic to Australia and is found primarily in the southwestern region of Western Australia. It is unique among triggerplants in that its leaves, five centimeters (two inches) long, end in a recurved barb that can grab hold of other vegetation and scramble or climb up to 30-60 cm in height over other plants, which is how it obtained its common name. Flowers are bright pink and about 15 mm wide.[1]
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.[1][2][3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b 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)
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