Genlisea (corkscrew plants), is a genus of approximately 15 species of carnivorous plant in the family Lentibulariaceae. Occurring in tropical Africa, Madagascar and Brazil, Genlisea is unique in the plant kingdom for specializing in protozoa and for attracting its prey chemically.
Genlisea repens
These plants are terrestrials or semi-aquatics. They consist of a single stem with small basal rosette of leaves, and a single flower, colored yellow or purple.
They have very unusual traps, which are essentially underground. They are a pair of thin tubes joined in an inverted 'V' shape, with spiral grooves down their lengths that allow the entrance of soil-borne invertebrates. The groves are lined with inward-pointing hairs that prevent the prey from escaping, and which force the prey items to move towards the centre of the tube. From there, prey are ferried toward the apex of the 'V', where they are digested, furnishing the plant with nutrients lacking from the impoverished soils in which they grow.
Species
Genlisea africana
Genlisea angolensis
Genlisea aurea
Genlisea barthlottii
Genlisea filiformis
Genlisea glabra
Genlisea glandulosissima
Genlisea violacea
Genlisea guianensis
Genlisea hispidula
Genlisea lobata
Genlisea margaretae
Genlisea pallida
Genlisea pygmaea
Genlisea repens
Genlisea roaraimensis
Genlisea sanariapoana
Genlisea stapfii
Genlisea subglabra
Genlisea violacea (flower)
Genlisea taylorii
Genlisea uncinata
Genlisea violacea
External link
Photos of Genlisea (http://wolfbat359.com/genlisea.htm)
Genlisea Aurea is one of the largest species in the genusGenlisea.
When not in flower, Genlisea Aurea is the easiest Genlisea species to recognize in Brazil, because of its rosettes composed by dozens of narrow leaves covered by a thick layer of gelatinous transparent mucilage, especially in shady habitats.
Genlisea is a genus related to both Utricularia and Pinguicula with perhaps the strangest trapping method of all the carnivorous plants.
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