alleryStart learning →What do the minerals obtained from trapped insects compensate for in a Venus flytrap?
AMinerals lacking in its boggy low pH soil
BSugars lacking because its leaves are small
CWater lacking because its roots are shallow
DLight lacking because it grows in deep shade
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. Minerals lacking in its boggy low pH soil
1. An insectivorous plant has specialised leaves that attract and digest insects.
2. In the Venus flytrap the minerals obtained from prey compensate for those lacking in the boggy, low pH soil of its native habitat.
3. Nectar secreted by the plant attracts flies to the leaf, and touching the sensory hairs closes it immediately.
4. Fluids and enzymes then break down the prey and the minerals are absorbed by the leaf.
5. The plant still photosynthesises, so the shortfall it is making up is mineral rather than energy.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 31 "Soil and Plant Nutrition", section 31.3 Nutritional Adaptations of Plants_
Keep practising Soil and Plant Nutrition
Browse all Soil and Plant Nutrition questions for ICAR JRF, or explore more Plant Sciences topics.
Related questions
Which two root types does an epiphyte have?In a lichen, what does the algal partner contribute?How do most saprophytic plants actually obtain their food?About how many species of parasitic plants are there?Which term describes a parasitic plant that is fully photosynthetic and uses its host onlyEndomycorrhizae are found in the roots of what proportion of terrestrial plants?What share of the total carbon accessed by plants can mycorrhizal fungi obtain?Through mycorrhization, which nutrients does the plant mainly obtain?