Way Downstream …(June 27-July 3, 2019)
Nearly 150 years ago, Charles Darwin wrote a book about carnivorous plants that included sketches of the tentacles they use to trap insects.
That evolution has taken a while to reach us. Now, climate change is the likely culprit. The first insect-eating plant has been discovered on the Eastern Shore near Nassawango Creek in Worcester County.
A local botanical enthusiast, Chase Howard, identified the dwarf sundew in wet, sandy soil and told Maryland Department of Natural Resources about it. DNR confirmed the discovery last week.
Don’t think that our new insect-eater puts our mosquito problem behind us. Our newly discovered sundew is called dwarf for a reason: It’s the smallest sundew in the United States, just three to five centimeters. Until now, it had been identified only as far north as Virginia.
Catching living nutrition, carnivorous plants have evolved over time to live in nutrient-poor soils. Sundews get their name from the sticky drops that resemble morning dew that form at the end of their tentacles.
Large varieties of carnivorous sundew can flourish in your home and earn their keep by eating a few bugs.
Just don’t get your fingers too close. (We’re kidding.)