Question

Which of the following is not an insectivorous plant?
A. Drosera
B. Nepenthes
C. Monotropa
D. Utricularia

Answer 1

Hint: The plant kingdom is divided into; pteridophytes, bryophytes, gymnosperm, and angiosperm. The basic criteria of classification of plants are the presence of vascular and non-vascular. As we all know that the plants are autotrophic in nature, but some of the modified plants are carnivores in nature as they trap insects for feeding.

Complete Answer:
- The carnivorous plants tap, kill, and digest the insects. The carnivorous plants are divided into; passive trap and active trap. Such plants have digestive enzymes produced by them and bacterial decay within the trap.
- The passive trap is the pitfall trap of the pitcher plants, including Darlingtonia, Nepenthes of the Nepenthaceae, and Sarracenia of the Sarraceniaceae where an insect falls inside the vase-like modification of the leaf.
- The plant prevents the insect from crawling down as they have hairs on the slippery walls and the insect finally drowns in the bottom of the pool of digestive enzymes. The venus flytrap is the carnivores flowering plants.
- The trap is made of two hinges lobes at the leaf end, on the inner surfaces of the lobes have trichomes that are hair-like projections cause the lobes of the snap get shut when the prey comes in contact with the plants.
- Such movement is termed as thigmonasty that is a nondirectional plant that shows response to being touched. The trap of the plant only gets shut when the trichome is touched many times to prevent the wastage of the energy if the prey is not there. The hinged traps are edged with bristles that get locked when the plant ensures the prey is not able to squirm out.
- Now, Drosera, Nepenthes, and Utricularia are insectivorous plants. Monotropa is commonly known as Indian pipe developed in humus rich soil, it does not consist of chlorophyll, they are considered as myco-heterotrophs as they get food from the root of other photosynthetic plants mediated by mycorrhiza. The mycorrhiza associates the root of the host plants with the parasitic plants.

Thus, the correct option is ‘C’. Monotropa.

Note: The Drosera plants have the twitchy tentacles that involve in the catapulting of the prey inside the sticky traps of the plants. The sticky tentacles then slowly bend to move the prey inside the leaves that are spoon-shaped inside there the prey slowly get digested.