Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that lure unsuspecting insects into their digestive juices using foul smells. But first they have to find a good, stinky perfume to entice the animals in. Luckily, in nature there are plenty of things that might smell appetizing to insects, including animal droppings. But how to get the animals to cooperate?
Thirty-five million to 47 million years ago, a carnivorous plant lived in what's now Russia. The dinosaurs were long gone, but various groups of mammals were still just evolving. The plant paid most of its attention, however, to smaller animals. Its leaves sported tentacley hairs that exuded a sticky fluid, designed to trap insects.
According to Japan Times, a new species of carnivorous plant has been found in Aichi Prefecture, on the central-southern coast of Japan's main island. The Japan Times calls it a "pitcher plant," which it is not; as a species related to (and mistaken for) Drosera indica, it's actually a sundew.
