Exploring
Carnivorous Plants
Image © sarracenia.com.
Used by permission. |
Gnats, flies, bees and ants… ingredients for a plant power
shake? Few plant adaptations amaze young gardeners as thoroughly
as those developed by carnivorous plants. Most plants absorb
nutrients from soil via their roots, but carnivorous plants
adapted to thrive in nutrient-poor bogs by getting these
key elements from insects, which they trap in ingenious ways.
This month we spotlight these special green survivors and
provide ideas for introducing them to your students.
Background and Lessons
Bugs
Beware! – An intro to the spectacular adaptations of
carnivorous plants, their habitats, and need to conserve
these wonders of nature.
What's
up with Wetlands? – Students exercise critical reading
and comprehension skills as they research the plight of wetlands
and carnivorous plants.
Create
a Carnivorous Plant – Now for some real fun: students
craft models of carnivorous plants that adapt to a list of
imagined criteria.
Image © sarracenia.com.
Used by permission. |
Web
Resources
For more background information to support your classroom explorations,
visit:
Peter's
Savage Garden (Exploratorium's
Science of Gardening Videos)
Carnivorous Plant
Pages (Botanical Society of America)
Carnivorous
Plant FAQ (International Carnivorous Plant
Society)
International
Carnivorous Plants Society
California Carnivores
Wondrous
Wetlands
© 2007
National Gardening Association