Re: bromeliads

Jan Schlauer (Jan@pbc-ths1.pci.chemie.uni-tuebingen.de)
Thu, 15 Feb 1996 12:28:30 +0100

Dear Andrew,

> B. hectoides, B. tatei and Puya sp. Bromiliads. Jan, do
>you know anything about carnivory in these? I figure if anyone would,
>you would.

Well, these and the other monocotyledons mentioned in this context are not
"real" carnivorous plants because they lack proteolytic enzymes (i.e. in
their traps!). Sometimes, Sarraceniaceae are cited as an example in which
these enzymes are also missing. But at least some portions of _Sarracenia_
and _Heliamphora_ were definitely demonstrated to produce endogeneous
digestive activities whereas not even the most famous sub-carnivores in
Bromeliaceae and Xyridaceae could be shown to secrete such in their traps.
So any bromeliad forming cisterns must equally well be considered
sub-carnivorous, approaching the genera you mentioned very closely. If you
like to specialize into these doubtlessly fascinating creatures, I would
recommend consulting/joining a bromeliad specialist group (there is also
one on the internet). My own expertise in these is very limited.

Kind regards
Jan