Associate professor Michigan State University Hickory Corners, Michigan, United States
Three independent times within the angiosperm phylogeny, leaves have evolved into highly modified tube-shaped death traps. Turning the tables on animals, these plants prey upon insects that are lured in and fall to their demise down into the pit of digestive fluids contained within. However, these pitcher plants are a paradox, both death traps as well as thriving ecosystems, with entire communities living within this miniature aquatic environment. The world of pitcher plants is breathtaking: fantastic colors and forms, and a veritable menagerie of arthropods, microbes, and even vertebrates interacting with them in a variety of different ways.
