Free Republic

Petunias and potatoes may actually be carnivorous plants, scientists now suggest. Indeed, carnivorous behavior may be far more widespread in plants than commonly thought - if we take a closer look, botanists said. At least six different kinds of killer plants have been recognized since the time of Darwin, such as Venus flytraps, which snares insects between its jaw-like leaves, and pitcher plants, which capture victims in slippery pits. These plants apparently target animals to supplement their growth in harsh, nutrient-poor habitats. Many other plants, some quite common, have also been suggested as potential carnivores over the years that have...

Explorers have discovered a new species of giant rodent-eating carnivorous plant and have named it after legendary TV naturalist Sir David Attenborough. Nepenthes attenboroughii, a previously unknown variety of pitcher plant discovered on a remote mountain in the Philippines, is so big that small rodents could be trapped inside and slowly dissolved by flesh-eating enzymes. It is thought that only a few hundred of the plants exist, growing only on one mountain on the island of Palawan. The species was discovered by a team of scientists who had heard reports from missionaries who got lost in the dense jungle. Stewart...

INFRA-red footage showing a "superbreed" of giant flesh-eating house mice chewing into an albatross chick has been used as a stark warning of what awaits pest-infested Macquarie Island.