Aldrovanda

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Aldrovanda
Temporal range: Paleocene - Recent
AldrovandaVesiculosa1.jpg
Aldrovanda vesiculosa
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Droseraceae
Genus: Aldrovanda
L.
Synonyms [1]
  • Drosera aldrovandaF.Muell., superfluous name
  • Aldrovanda verticillataRoxb.
  • Aldrovanda generalisE.H.L.Krause

Aldrovanda /ˌældrəˈvændə/ is a genus of carnivorous plants encompassing one extant species ( Aldrovanda vesiculosa , the waterwheel plant) and numerous extinct taxa. The genus is named in honor of the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, the founder of the Botanical Garden of Bologna, Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna. [2] Aldrovanda vesiculosa has been reported from scattered locations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. [1] [3] [4] [5]

Description

The waterwheel is a small, free floating and rootless aquatic plant, with a length of about 1.5 to 20 cm (9⁄16 to 7+7⁄8 in), and whorls of about 1 to 2 cm (3⁄8 to 13⁄16 in) in diameter. [6] At every 3 to 4 cm the plant branches, sometimes forming offshoots. An average of 12 to 19 whorls spans the length of the plant, each with about 5 to 9 leaves, each up to 11 mm long. The growth is faster than terrestrial carnivorous plants, sometimes growing about 4 to 9 mm a day.

In temperate regions the plant goes dormant in the winter, forming turions of about 4–6 mm (3⁄16–1⁄4 in) and sinking to the bottom. In tropical regions, the plant grows all year long without forming turions. The plant flourishes and produces seeds only in these warmer regions, with temperatures higher than 25 °C (77 °F), and produces only one flower, white or light pink, that arises above the surface. In temperate regions, the plant reproduces mostly via asexual means, producing inviable seeds or no flower at all.

The leaf structure is very similar to the Dionaea (commonly known as the Venus flytrap), the main difference being air chambers present in the "stem". The traps, at the end of the leaf, contains up to 6 bristles, analogous to Dionaea teeth, that prevent debris from activating the trap. Each trap contains an additional 60–80 smaller "teeth", and circa 30–40 trigger hairs inside. The speed of closing is about 0.01 to 0.02 seconds.

Trap mechanism

The trap mechanism is akin to that present in Dionaea - Darwin even named it "the miniature aquatic Dionaea". The mechanism by which the trap snaps shut involves a complex interaction between elasticity, turgor and growth. In the open, untripped state, the lobes are convex (bent outwards), but in the closed state, the lobes are concave (forming a cavity). It is the rapid flipping of this bistable state that closes the trap, but the mechanism by which this occurs is still poorly understood. When the trigger hairs are stimulated, an action potential (mostly involving calcium ions—see calcium in biology) is generated, which propagates across the lobes and stimulates cells in the lobes and in the midrib between them. [7]

Extinct relatives

The extinct species are known only from fossil pollen and seeds, [8] with the exception of A. inopinata, which is also known from fossilised laminae. [9] Aldrovanda was for a long time thought to be related to the Late Cretaceous form taxon Palaeoaldrovanda splendens , but research published in 2010 suggests that remains attributed to Palaeoaldrovanda actually represent fossilised insect eggs. [10] [11]

Evolution

The organ of carnivory in Aldrovanda is the snap trap. Snap traps are only found in one other carnivorous plant genus, Dionaea. The two genera have been shown to share a most recent common ancestor by analysis of combined nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences. [12] [13] When sequences of chloroplast DNA of Aldrovanda, Dionaea, and Drosera were analyzed alone, however, Aldrovanda and Drosera (sundews) were shown to share a most recent common ancestor. [14] It has been proposed that this discrepancy between gene trees based on nuclear and cytoplasmic DNA analyses can be explained by chloroplast capture, [14] as similar inconsistencies have been explained by this phenomenon. [15] [16]

Conservation

Aldrovanda vesiculosa is listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List. [17] It is native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, but is considered extinct in much of its native range, primarily due to eutrophication. [18] Despite being endangered in its native range, it was introduced in the U.S. and has been reported to be rapidly spreading in the waters of the Catskill Mountains of New York, USA, where it is being evaluated as a potentially problematic invasive species. [19]

Species

Several undescribed species are also known.

The distinctions between the various named species have been criticised, [20] although SEM analysis of the seed structures seems to confirm the existence of different species. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nepenthales</span> Order of carnivorous plants

Nepenthales is an order of carnivorous flowering plants in the Cronquist system of plant classification.

<i>Drosera</i> Genus of carnivorous flowering plants in the family Droseraceae

Drosera, which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous glands covering their leaf surfaces. The insects are used to supplement the poor mineral nutrition of the soil in which the plants grow. Various species, which vary greatly in size and form, are native to every continent except Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Droseraceae</span> Family of carnivorous flowering plants

Droseraceae is a family of carnivorous flowering plants, also known as the sundew family. It consists of approximately 180 species in three extant genera. Representatives of the Droseraceae are found on all continents except Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venus flytrap</span> Species of carnivorous plant

The Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant native to the temperate and subtropical wetlands of North Carolina and South Carolina, on the East Coast of the United States. Although various modern hybrids have been created in cultivation, D. muscipula is the only species of the monotypic genus Dionaea. It is closely related to the waterwheel plant and the cosmopolitan sundews (Drosera), all of which belong to the family Droseraceae. Dionaea catches its prey—chiefly insects and arachnids—with a "jaw"-like clamping structure, which is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves; when an insect makes contact with the open leaves, vibrations from the prey's movements ultimately trigger the "jaws" to shut via tiny hairs on their inner surfaces. Additionally, when an insect or spider touches one of these hairs, the trap prepares to close, only fully enclosing the prey if a second hair is contacted within (approximately) twenty seconds of the first contact. Triggers may occur as quickly as 1⁄10 of a second from initial contact.

<i>Utricularia</i> Genus of carnivorous plants

Utricularia, commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species. They occur in fresh water and wet soil as terrestrial or aquatic species across every continent except Antarctica. Utricularia are cultivated for their flowers, which are often compared with those of snapdragons and orchids, especially amongst carnivorous plant enthusiasts.

<i>Drosophyllum</i> Genus of carnivorous plants

Drosophyllum is a genus of carnivorous plants containing the single species Drosophyllum lusitanicum, commonly known as Portuguese sundew or dewy pine. In appearance, it is similar to the related genus Drosera, and to the much more distantly related Byblis.

<i>Aldrovanda vesiculosa</i> Species of plant (waterwheel plant)

Aldrovanda vesiculosa, commonly known as the waterwheel plant, is the sole extant species in the flowering plant genus Aldrovanda of the family Droseraceae. The plant captures small aquatic invertebrates using traps similar to those of the Venus flytrap. The traps are arranged in whorls around a central, free-floating stem, giving rise to the common name. This is one of the few plant species capable of rapid movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapid plant movement</span> Short period movement of plants

Rapid plant movement encompasses movement in plant structures occurring over a very short period, usually under one second. For example, the Venus flytrap closes its trap in about 100 milliseconds. The traps of Utricularia are much faster, closing in about 0.5 milliseconds. The dogwood bunchberry's flower opens its petals and fires pollen in less than 0.5 milliseconds. The record is currently held by the white mulberry tree, with flower movement taking 25 microseconds, as pollen is catapulted from the stamens at velocities in excess of half the speed of sound—near the theoretical physical limits for movements in plants.

<i>Drosera regia</i> Species of carnivorous plant in the family Droseraceaea endemic to a single valley in South Africa

Drosera regia, commonly known as the king sundew, is a carnivorous plant in the sundew genus Drosera that is endemic to a single valley in South Africa. The genus name Drosera comes from the Greek word droseros, meaning "dew-covered". The specific epithet regia is derived from the Latin for "royal", a reference to the "striking appearance" of the species. Individual leaves can reach 70 cm (28 in) in length. It has many unusual relict characteristics not found in most other Drosera species, including woody rhizomes, operculate pollen, and the lack of circinate vernation in scape growth. All of these factors, combined with molecular data from phylogenetic analysis, contribute to the evidence that D. regia possesses some of the most ancient characteristics within the genus. Some of these are shared with the related Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), which suggests a close evolutionary relationship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thigmonasty</span> Undirected movement in response to touch or vibration

In biology, thigmonasty or seismonasty is the nastic (non-directional) response of a plant or fungus to touch or vibration. Conspicuous examples of thigmonasty include many species in the leguminous subfamily Mimosoideae, active carnivorous plants such as Dionaea and a wide range of pollination mechanisms.

<i>Drosera anglica</i> Species of carnivorous flowering plant in the family Droseraceae

Drosera anglica, commonly known as the English sundew or great sundew, is a carnivorous flowering plant species belonging to the sundew family Droseraceae. It is a temperate species with a circumboreal range, although it does occur as far south as Japan, southern Europe, and the island of Kauai in Hawaii, where it grows as a tropical sundew. It is thought to originate from an amphidiploid hybrid of D. rotundifolia and D. linearis, meaning that a sterile hybrid between these two species doubled its chromosomes to produce fertile progeny which stabilized into the current D. anglica.

Palaeoaldrovanda splendens is a form taxon of uncertain identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drosera burmannii</span> Species of carnivorous plant

Drosera burmanni, the tropical sundew, is a small, compact species in the carnivorous plant genus Drosera. Its natural geographical range includes the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Australia. It normally spans only 2 cm (0.8 in) in diameter. It is one of the fastest trapping sundews as well, and its leaves can curl around an insect in only a few seconds, compared to the minutes or hours it takes other sundews to surround their prey. In nature, D. burmanni is an annual, but in cultivation, when grown indoors during the cold months, it can live for many years. Since D. burmanni is an annual, it produces large amounts of seed. Drosera burmanni has been considered a powerful rubefacient in Ayurveda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnivorous plant</span> Plants that consume animals

Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. They still generate all of their energy from photosynthesis. They have adapted to grow in waterlogged sunny places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica, as well as many Pacific islands. In 1875, Charles Darwin published Insectivorous Plants, the first treatise to recognize the significance of carnivory in plants, describing years of painstaking research.

<i>Drosera glanduligera</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Drosera glanduligera, commonly known as the pimpernel sundew or scarlet sundew, is a species of carnivorous plant endemic to southern Australia. It is an ephemeral annual plant that grows in the winter and flowers from August to November.

<i>Drosera uniflora</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Drosera uniflora is a species in the carnivorous plant genus Drosera that is native to southern Chile, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. It is a tiny sundew with a solitary white flower as its name would suggest. Stalked glands on its leaves, which secrete sticky mucilage at the tips, are used to capture and hold insect prey, from which the plant derives the nutrients it cannot obtain in sufficient quantity from the soil. It was formally described in 1809 by botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow.

<i>Drosera meristocaulis</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Drosera meristocaulis is a perennial species in the carnivorous plant genus Drosera, the only member of the subgenus Meristocaulis. It is a small, rosette- and branched stem-forming sundew that has many morphological affinities to the Australian pygmy sundews. D. meristocaulis is wholly endemic to Pico da Neblina, an isolated mountain on the Brazil-Venezuela border.

Drosera peruensis is a carnivorous plant of the genus Drosera, commonly known as the Peruvian sundew. This Drosera species was first identified in Peru in 2002 by Tânia Regina dos Santos Silva and Mireya D. Correa following work to update the genus Drosera for the reference text, Flora Neotropica..

<i>Drosera tentaculata</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Drosera tentaculata is a carnivorous plant native to Brazil. The species is endemic to the Brazil and occurs in "rupestre" field at the "Cadeia do Espinhaço" Highlands in the Bahia and Minas Gerais.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steel trap (carnivorous plants)</span> Prey capture device of some carnivorous plants

Steel trap is an informal term in the study of comparative plant physiology of the carnivorous plants. "Steel trap", more particularly "active steel trap", refers to prey capture devices such as occur in some members of the family Droseraceae, and in particular in the genera Dionaea and Aldrovanda ("waterwheel"). The term apparently originated with the author Francis Ernest Lloyd in 1942, in which he adopted the overly general term "steel trap" rather than say, "gin trap" or a more adjectival form, for devices such as the lobed trap leaves of Dionaea.

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Aldrovanda vesiculosa
  2. ↑ Genaust, Helmut (1976). Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen ISBN   3-7643-0755-2
  3. ↑ Lee, B.C. (2009). Rare plants data book of Korea: 1-296. Korea National Arboretum
  4. ↑ Flora of China Vol. 8 Page 201 貉藻属 he zao shu Aldrovanda Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 281. 1753.
  5. ↑ Altervista Flora Italiana, Aldrovanda vesiculosa L. includes line drawing plus a European distribution map
  6. ↑ "CPN Samples". International Carnivorous Plant Society. 1997.
  7. ↑ Hodick, Dieter; Sievers, Andreas (1989). "The action potential of Dionaea muscipula Ellis". Planta. 174 (1): 8–18. doi:10.1007/BF00394867. PMID   24221411. S2CID   3114033.
  8. ↑ Degreef, J.D. (1997). "Fossil Aldrovanda" (PDF). Carnivorous Plant Newsletter . 26 (3): 93–97. doi:10.55360/cpn263.jd244. S2CID   254447433.
  9. ↑ Schlauer, J (1997). "Fossil Aldrovanda — additions" (PDF). Carnivorous Plant Newsletter . 26 (3): 98. doi:10.55360/cpn263.js888. S2CID   254428386.
  10. ↑ Heřmanová, Z.; Kvaček, J. (2010). "Late Cretaceous Palaeoaldrovanda, not seeds of a carnivorous plant, but eggs of an insect". Journal of the National Museum. Natural History Series. 179 (9). Prague: 105–118. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  11. ↑ Schlauer, J (2012). "Literature reviews". Carnivorous Plant Newsletter . 41 (3): 121.
  12. ↑ Cameron, K.M.; Wurdack, K.J.; Jobson, R.W. (2002). "Molecular evidence for the common origin of snap-traps among carnivorous plants". American Journal of Botany. 89 (9): 1503–1509. doi:10.3732/ajb.89.9.1503. PMID   21665752.
  13. ↑ Rivadavia, F.; Kondo, K.; Kato, M.; Hasebe, M. (2003). "Phylogeny of the sundews, Drosera (Droseraceae) based on chloroplast rbcL and nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA sequences". American Journal of Botany. 90 (1): 123–130. doi: 10.3732/ajb.90.1.123 . PMID   21659087.
  14. 1 2 Elansary, H.O.M.; Adamec, L.; Storchova, H. (2010). "Uniformity of organellar DNA in Aldrovanda vesiculosa, an endangered aquatic carnivorous species, distributed across four continents". Aquatic Botany. 92 (3): 214–220. Bibcode:2010AqBot..92..214E. doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2009.12.002.
  15. ↑ Tsitrone, A.; Kirkpatrick, M.; Levin, D.A. (2003). "A model for chloroplast capture". Evolution. 57 (8): 1776–1782. doi:10.1111/j.0014-3820.2003.tb00585.x. PMID   14503619.
  16. ↑ Gaskin, J.F.; Wilson, L.M. (2007). "Phylogenetic relationships among native and naturalized Hieracium (Asteraceae) in Canada and the United States based on plastid DNA sequences". Systematic Botany. 32 (2): 478–485. doi:10.1600/036364407781179752. S2CID   59436678.
  17. ↑ "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  18. ↑ Cross, A. (2012). "Aldrovanda vesiculosa, Waterwheel". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2012. Archived from the original on 2019-05-23. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  19. ↑ Renault, Marion (2019-08-13). "This Carnivorous Plant Invaded New York. That May Be Its Only Hope". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  20. ↑ Friis, E.-M. 1980. Microcarpological Studies of Middle Miocene Floras of Western Denmark. Ph.D. Thesis, Aarhus Universitet, 183-186.
  21. ↑ Iakubovskaya, T.V. (1991). "Rod Aldrovanda (Droseraceae) v Plieistotsenie Bielorussii". Bot. Zhurnal. 76 (1): 109–118.
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