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Publication Date

2023-5

First Advisor

Jesse Bellemare

Document Type

Honors Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Biological Sciences

Keywords

carnivorous plants, plant and insect interactions, Sarracenia, Heliamphora, Darlingtonia, Sarraceniaceae, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), trichomes, pitcher plants, evolution

Abstract

Unlike other more famous, motile carnivorous plants, pitcher plants have been considered a classic example of passive, non-motile pitfall traps with various suggested prey capture mechanisms. Pitcher plants with pitfall traps for prey capture have evolved independently in three distinct angiosperm lineages: Sarraceniaceae, Nepentheaceae, and Cephalotaceae. Micromorphological studies have shown that some of these species exhibit trap surface traits that might enhance prey capture and retention. In the Sarraceniaceae, several of studies have detected that some species produce microscopic, downward-pointing hairs on the interior walls of their traps which might create anisotropic, anti-adhesive surfaces to facilitate prey capture. In this descriptive study, a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) survey of the trap leaf interior surfaces was conducted focusing on representative species of all 3 Sarraceniaceae genera (Darlingtonia, Heliamphora, and Sarracenia) to explore the distribution and nature of this trichome trait relative to evolutionary relationships and trap forms, as well as explore the way in which vertical, shingled trichome surfaces might interact with tarsi of flying insect prey. The results suggest that the presence of microscopic trichomes might date back to the common ancestor of the Sarraceniaceae clade, approximately 35 MYA, with subsequent loss in a subset of species in both the Sarracenia and Heliamphora genera, potentially in conjunction with changes in pitcher form and presentation associated with shifts from tall vertical traps attracting flying insects to low, semi-horizontal pitchers capturing primarily crawling invertebrates.

Rights

©2023 Marge Poma Alarcon. Access limited to the Smith College community and other researchers while on campus. Smith College community members also may access from off-campus using a Smith College log-in. Other off-campus researchers may request a copy through Interlibrary Loan for personal use.

Language

English

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