Utricularia Furcellata: Rare plant species that feeds on insects

Since our childhood, we have grown up studying the ecology of plants and memorising the process of photosynthesis, which is a process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen. But, what if someone told you that there are certain types of plant species that feed on insects, mosquito larvae, and even young tadpoles?

Although the thought of plants feeding on insects sounds bizarre, it is true. The Uttarakhand Forest department has discovered a rare carnivorous plant species named Utricularia Furcellata in western Himalayan region of India. 

The rare discovery, which has been published in The Journal of Japanese Botany, was made by a team of the Research Wing of the Uttarakhand forest department, consisting of Range officer Harish Negi and Junior Research Fellow (JRF) Manoj Singh in the Mandal valley in September 2021. 

“This is the first such recording/sighting of this rare carnivorous plant not only in Uttarakhand but in the entire western Himalayan region of India. In fact, after 1986, this species could not be collected from any part of India,” said Sanjiv Chaturvedi, Chief Conservator of Forest (Research).  

Mostly found in freshwater and wet soil, this rare species of plant belongs to a genus, commonly known as bladderwort. It uses one of the most sophisticated and developed plant structures for trap and targets protozoa, insects, mosquito larvae and even the young tadpoles. 

At this point, you might be wondering how these plants manage to do that? Well, these plants do this by simply creating a vacuum or negative pressure area to draw prey inside the trap door.

Although this discovery has extended its range of distribution westward, the rare species face the threat of extinction due to heavy biotic pressure because of being at a tourist spot.

While carnivorous plants have caught the attention of the scientific community across the world, this was the first such comprehensive study in the state of Uttarakhand in India. The discovery was a part of a project on the study of insectivorous plants in Uttarakhand approved by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) in 2019.

So far, the researchers have found around 20 plant species belonging to the genus Drosera, Utricularia and Pinguicula. Prior to this, the researchers were in search of a rare orchid species Liparis Pygmaean, which was reported in the French Journal Richardiana in September 2020. 

The discovery of Utricularia Furcellata adds to the long list of rare plant species found in Indian forests, which are rich in flora and fauna. 

Globally, carnivorous plants have been receiving increasing attention due to their distinct manner of arranging food and nutrition through the intelligent trap mechanisms. These rare plant species also have potential medicinal benefits, which is yet to be explored and shared with the world at large.