The Princess of Wales Conservatory

Carnivorous plants

Sundews (Drosera), Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula) and pitcher plants (Sarracenia) possess different types of trap to catch the insects they need to supplement the often scarce nutrients available from the inhospitable bogs where they grow. They are found in a cool, well-lit area on the eastern side of the Conservatory.

Nearby, in the Wet Tropics Zone, other carnivorous pitcher plants (Nepenthes) attract their prey with vivid red or purple pitchers, slippery on the inside so that insects which enter lose their footing and fall into the digestive juices below.

Continue the tour

Back up to: North Eastern Zone

Carry on to: Ferns