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No passive flypaper: Byblis possess active moving traps


Siggi_Hartmeyer

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In literature, Byblis is usually described as a passive flypaper. But new examinations (2018/19) show that the genus possess active moving capture hairs.

A highlight for CP-enthusiasts! In 2018, first videos by Dr. Gregory Allan (GB) on Facebook showed an active motion of Byblis trichomes. However, the topic literature describes the carnivorous genus as immobile. To review that behavior, we made own time lapse shots with a microscope that turned out to be surprisingly even for ourselves. They confirm clearly that the unicellular trichome stalks show an active motion down to the leaf surface after being touched by prey. Therefore, we looked up again the work of some CP pioneers like Charles Darwin (1875) or C.A. Fenner (1904), and included their findings and assumptions on Byblis complemented with excerpts from Dr. Gregory Allan's first shots (with his kind permission).

In addition, we examined the related Lindernia cleistandra (all Lamiales) that likewise occurs in tropical Australia and that is like Byblis densly covered with glandular trichomes. However, its state regarding carnivory is yet unclear. We complemented the time lapse shots with an enzyme test, which we used even in 2010 to detect digestive enzymes in Byblis filifolia. Well, just view this film and you will know more about these interesting plants.
We would like to express our thanks to Dr. Gregory Allan, Dr. Jan Schlauer as well as Holger und Anja Hennern
for their kind support during the making of this film. Enjoy:

 

 

 

Edited by Siggi_Hartmeyer
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