Garden Detective: carnivorous plants

When we brought my mutt of a puppy home three years ago, she tore the wallpaper off the mudroom walls, ate a hole in the wooden coffee table and several more in the couch. She chewed up countless shoes, destroyed a camera and, on numerous occasions, ate my daughter's homework. Really. Maddie had no manners whatsoever.

For the first two years of her life, I could often be heard muttering that plants were better than puppies because they were well-behaved and provided joy without causing any pain, and what was I thinking getting another dog, anyway?

As it turns out, I now have some ill-mannered plants in my house, and although they're quite destructive, I'm not muttering at all. Let me introduce you to them.

Asian tropical pitcher plant

(Nepenthes sanguinea) is an unusual specimen with several red-speckled, hairy, pitcher leaves that are shaped like funnels. Her beauty woos every curiosity seeker who enters the room, but be warned: She has a murderous nature and aims only to lure her prey with her irresistible nectar glands. Once in her trap, unsuspecting visitors slip uncontrollably into a slick funnel surrounded by a row of teeth. And that is where it gets ugly: Although she's a passive killer, her pitfall trap is so slippery that her victims can't climb out. Once at the bottom, they become immersed in a macabre watery grave of digestive enzymes. Fortunately, my pitcher plant has an appetite only for insects and not humans (or cameras or homework).

North American pitcher plant

(Sarracenia leucophylla) is so greedy he even looks greedy, sitting there with his big mouth wide open all the time, just waiting. His striking pitchers can be solid green, red-veined or lacy, but don't be deceived by his beauty: This guy's a savage. Each pitcher has what looks like an open lid, but it never closes; its purpose is merely to lure as it becomes dotted with a sweet, intoxicating nectar that makes insects drunk and causes them to stumble into the trap. The inside of each pitcher is a slimy, slippery slide lined with downward-angled hairs that make it impossible to escape. But this pitcher plant is unlike his Asian cousin and digests prey without liquid. Though native to swamps and bogs in the South, this plant will be just as happy in the Northeast in a container by your sunny window.

Venus fly trap

(Dionaea muscipula) has always been a favorite of children because of her small size and grisly intentions. Striking clawlike lobes, lined with red, remain casually open until their hairs are stimulated by the movement of an insect, and that, my friends, is where the carnage begins. The lobes, or hinged leaves, snap shut on the visitor, whether a fly or an ant or a mosquito, and digestion commences. There is no way out. It's commonly believed that in the absence of insects, one could "feed" chopped meat to a Venus fly trap by placing a morsel in an open lobe and massaging it shut. Do not try this. I did, and it resulted in a rotted lobe. The movement of a struggling insect desperately trying to break free is what entices digestion. Chopped meat, as you might be aware, does not move. Enough said.

Spoon leaf sundew

(Drosera spathulata) employs a different method of attaining food. Grown in water without soil, sundew reaches only 2 inches tall. Her tiny leaves are arranged in hairy rosettes, which are dotted with a sticky dew produced by her stalked glands. It is believed that when light hits the dew, its reflection attracts her prey. Then when an insect comes into contact with the adhesive, it becomes stuck as if to flypaper.