Triphyophyllum Peltatum: Rare Plant Can Become Carnivorous When It Lacks Nutrients

A uncommon tropical plant has the ability to transform into a predator in specific situations.

The mechanism causing this has now been identified by a research team from the universities of Hannover and Würzburg.

Uncommon tropical plant, hunger for meat due to deficiency

(Photo : GUILLERMO LEGARIA/AFP via Getty Images)

The plant Triphyophyllum peltatum is unusual.

The liana species, which is indigenous to West Africa's tropics, is of great interest for medical and pharmaceutical research because of its constituents, which in the lab have demonstrated potential medically beneficial activities against cells, such as leukemia and pancreatic cancer and also against pathogens that cause malaria and other diseases, as per Phys.org.

Triphyophyllum peltatum, the only plant species known to have the ability to turn carnivorous under specific conditions, is noteworthy from a botanical standpoint.

It adds tiny insects to its meal, which it catches via secretion drops that act as sticky traps and digests with specially-made lytic enzymes.

The plant's leaves exhibit remarkable flexibility and may be divided into three varieties based on their developmental stage.

Simple leaves first form in the juvenile phase, but later on, so-called trap leaves that carry a lot of sticky traps can form.

After serving its purpose, the plant either produces regular leaves once again or, if it has reached the liana stage, leaves that has two hooks at the tip that can be used as a climbing support.

Triphyophyllum peltatum demonstrates a great degree of plasticity in the expression of leaf identity; the developmental stages can vary in length, while the carnivorous stage may either be totally missing or made up for at a later stage.

Consequently, it appears that the plant adjusts to the local environmental factors.

The plant was also thought to be very difficult to cultivate, making it difficult to study the formation of trap leaves experimentally, a problem that has now been resolved by researchers at Leibniz Universität Hannover and Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg.

Also read: Weird Nature: 5 of the Most Bizarre Bug Eating Plants on the Planet

Why do plants eat meat?

Carnivorous plants have evolved a wide variety of peculiar and amazing adaptations that enable them to thrive in nutrient-deficient situations, as per the Natural History Museum.

Animals are drawn to, captured by, and consumed by carnivorous plants for their nutrients.

Because carnivory is considered a successful adaptation, it has repeatedly independently evolved in different plant groups.

Carnivory doesn't replace the requirement for photosynthesis and root systems, however it's fantastic for nutritional top-ups.

Simply said, being carnivorous aids plants in utilizing all resources to their fullest potential.

Triphyophyllum peltatum trigger due to to lack of Phosphorus

The cause of the shift to a carnivorous lifestyle has been discovered by the research team.

They subjected the plant to various stresses, such as nutritional deficits, and observed the way it responded to each.

They were only able to see traps emerge in one situation, when there was a phosphorus shortage.

Triphyophyllum peltatum may avoid the possibility of starvation by setting up traps and gaining access to the essential nutrient through digestion of its insect prey in its native environment of African tropical forests on nutrient-poor soils.

The scientists claimed that these new discoveries are a milestone since they enable upcoming molecular investigations that will aid in understanding the evolution of carnivory.

Related article: New Carnivorous Plant Species from Butterworts Genus Discovered in Ecuador