Aquatic and insectivorous plant is
2013
Aquatic and insectivorous plant is
- A.
Utricularia
- B.
Dionaea
- C.
Drosera
- D.
None of these
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Correct answer: A
Insectivorous (carnivorous) plants supplement the poor mineral nutrition of the soils or waters they grow in by trapping and digesting small prey, chiefly insects. Depending on the genus, these plants occur in either terrestrial habitats such as bogs and marshes, or in aquatic habitats such as ponds and ditches, and they use very different trap mechanisms to catch prey.
Utricularia (commonly called bladderworts) is the classic example of an aquatic insectivorous genus: many of its species live submerged in fresh water such as ponds and ditches, where they capture tiny prey with bladder-shaped suction traps — so it is both aquatic and insectivorous.
Dionaea (Venus flytrap) — an insectivorous plant that typically grows rooted in boggy ground and catches prey with a hinged snap-trap; it is not regarded as aquatic.
Drosera (sundew) — an insectivorous plant that typically grows in marshy or peaty ground and catches prey with sticky glandular tentacles; the genus is classified as terrestrial and is not the standard aquatic example, even though a few of its species tolerate very wet sites.
None of these — not applicable, because one of the named genera (Utricularia) does satisfy the aquatic-and-insectivorous description.
Among the three named genera, Utricularia is the recognised aquatic insectivorous plant, so it is the correct answer.