We’re taking a leftover pool noodle from summer and creating a fun pitcher plant craft to demonstrate how this amazing plant works. Also, look at my free lapbook and Carnivorous Plants unit study.
In tropical and subtropical regions of the world, you can find pitcher plants.
Those places are warm and have humid climates that pitcher plants need to thrive.
Pitcher plants and other carnivorous plants are unable to attain enough nitrogen from the soil where they grow.
This is an important requirement for plants.
So, in order to survive they have adapted by trapping and absorbing insects which provides them with nitrogen and phosphorus.
They have several different ways that help them attract and trap bugs.
For example, they have pitcher shaped leaves, bug enticing nectar, slippery walls, and enzymes.
While it’s kind of gross it is really neat and fascinating!
Pitcher-shaped leaves. The pitcher-shaped leaves of pitcher plants are designed to trap insects.
It has leaves that are brightly colored. Too, they have a slippery surface, making it difficult for insects to climb out once they fall in.
Sweet nectar-Pitcher plants produce a sweet nectar that serves as bait for insects.
This nectar is located at the rim of the pitcher and near the opening, enticing insects to investigate.
Slippery walls. There are tiny, downward-pointing hairs in the inner walls. This makes it slippery and difficult for insects to climb out.
These hairs act like a one-way door, allowing insects to enter the pitcher but preventing them from escaping.
Digestive enzymes- Pitcher plants produce digestive enzymes that help them break down and absorb the nutrients from the insects they capture.
These enzymes are secreted into the liquid at the bottom of the pitcher and break down the insect’s body over time.
Books About Carnivorous Plants
Also, add these books to your home library.
11 Carnivorous Plants Resources
Add some of these books and resources for a carnivorous plants unit study for multiple ages.
Eaten Alive by Carnivorous Plants. This is a natural science book for a young audience. There are over 760 different kinds of meat-eating plants in the world. They attract, capture, and digest their prey in order to supplement the nutrients that are deficient in the soil they grow in. This book describes all four major types of traps used by the meat-eating plants. Children will learn all the tricks these plants have in store for their unsuspecting prey.
Carnivorous plants: they're weird, they're gorgeous, and they're the perfect addition to your urban jungle of pothos, snake plants, and succulents. However, they can also be intimidating to grow and care for. Let Killer Plants be your guide as it walks you through the different types of carnivorous plants and how to keep each variety alive and well.
This Coloring Book is a lovely tool to express your creativity and embody your colorful ideas.
35 pages to color With custom sized pages (8,5" x 11") and soft cover this book is perfect for keeping it at hand wherever you go. With it's artful cover page this coloring book will always brighten up your life and be an eye-catcher for everyone else.
Meat-Eating Plants - a carnivorous plant story. There are over 760 kinds of meat-eating plants in the world. They developed this amazing meat-eating habit in order to survive in their mineral-poor environment. There are four major types of traps used by carnivorous plants: pitfall trap, sticky-leaf trap, snap-trap, and suction trap in the water. All these trap mechanisms are explained using amazing color images. Youngsters will explore the wonders of nature as they read along about these amazing plants!
Get ready to dive into the thrilling world of carnivorous plants with "Predator Plants"! This enchanting guide is designed to captivate the minds of both kids and their parents. With 20 fascinating questions answered, this comprehensive book unravels the mysteries of these
botanical wonders, exploring their unique characteristics and abilities.
Elizabite is a carnivorous plant who eats insects as appetizers and enjoys hotdogs for snacks. Whether it walks, talks, flies, or barks, Elizabite is ready to make a meal of it. Her cheerful, hungry smile and infinite appetite attract much attention - a scientist examines her, a professor studies her, and everyone agrees that she is one of a kind. In an effort to control her diet and her unpredictable temper, Elizabite's admirers chain and muzzle her. But not even a barbed wire fence can prevent her from following her heart's (and stomach's) desire! Only when her unique appetite prevents a crime does Elizabite win the respect she deserves.
- Easy And Fun To Grow - Franki "The Ferocious" Fly Trap - Great Kids Gift
- Just Add Water! - Everything Else To Keep Your Terrarium Is Included.
- Watch Out Flies! - Plants Will Grow Into Bug Eating Monsters!
- Each Kit Comes With A Genuine Jasper Stone (Color Varies)
This book offers readers a bug’s-eye view into the strange and fascinating world of carnivorous plants. From the “jaws” of the Venus flytrap to the pretty sundew plant whose delicate tentacles entrap its prey, the unique anatomy and behaviors of meat-eating plants are detailed with clear, engaging text and art.
Discover a variety of carnivorous plants, including the Venus fly trap, sundew, pitcher plant, and bladderwort. The natural world comes alive for young readers (Ages 6-7) with Rookie Read-About "RM" Science! With striking, full-color photos and just the right amount of text, this series immediately involves young readers as they discover intriguing facts about the fascinating world around them.
There are plants that prickle, sting, and even munch insects for lunch! So, never bite a strange plant—it might bite back! Stunning photographs combine with lively illustrations and engaging,
age-appropriate stories in DK Readers, a multilevel reading program guaranteed to capture children's interest while developing their reading skills and general knowledge.
Live Carnivorous Plants Including Venus Fly Traps, Sundew and Pitcher Plants.
Just Add Water! - Everything Else To Keep Your Terrarium Is Included.
10 Incredible Facts About The Pitcher Plant
- Pitcher Plants can be houseplants. They do best as terrariums with adequate sunlight and mildly acidic soil.
- Pitcher plants can be found in various habitats. They can be found in rainforests, swamps, bogs, and even some coastal areas. And they can be found growing on the ground, on trees, or even on rocks.
- Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants, this means that they trap and eat insects and other small animals to obtain nutrients.
- They have modified leaves that evolved into pitcher-shaped structures, perfectly designed to capture prey.
- The inside of the pitcher is lined with downward-pointing hairs and glands that secrete a slippery liquid. This liquid attracts insects with its sweet aroma but makes it difficult for them to climb out once they fall in.
- Once an insect falls into the pitcher, it drowns in the liquid. Then it is broken down by enzymes and bacteria, releasing nutrients that the pitcher plant can absorb.
- There are approximately 170 known species of pitcher plants. Each has unique characteristics.
- Pitcher plants are found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, with the greatest diversity being in Southeast Asia.
- Some pitcher plants, such as the Rafflesiana pitcher plant, can grow to be over 10 feet tall, which makes them the largest carnivorous plants in the world.
- Pitcher plants play a very important role in the ecosystems by helping to control the population of insects, like mosquitoes, which can carry diseases.
Pitcher Plant and Other Carnivorous Plant Resources
- Carnivorous Plants Unit Study
- Carnivorous Plants For Kids and Make a Fun Paper Plate Venus Flytrap Craft
- Free Carnivorous Plants Lapbook and Fun Homeschool Unit Study Ideas
- Free Carnivorous Plants Notebooking Pages & Easy Hands-on Science Activity
- Get a two for one resource in this C is for Carnivorous Plants: Book and Craft.
Botanicum is a wonderful resource full of incredible vintage illustrations and covers a wide variety of plants including our Pitcher Plant.
How to Make a Fun Pitcher Plant Craft With Pool Noodles
You will need:
- Pool noodle
- Green felt
- Red paint or markers
- A small knife
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun/glue stick
First, cut a couple of lengths of pool noodle.
Cut it down to the size you would like your pitcher plants.
Vary them in height.
Then take the knife and scrape the bottom 3/4 tapering the shape a bit.
Hollow out the center a little more to make the opening larger.
Measure and wrap felt around your pool noodle secure the back with hot glue.
Cut a piece of pipe cleaner 1 ½” = long hot glue on the back of the plant, hiding it behind the felt seam.
Fold the felt inside on both ends of the pool noodle and secure with hot glue
Next, cut two small slices off the pool noodle, an 1/8” or less.
Shape your small slices a little bit to give them a bit more of a leaf shape.
Then cut felt slightly larger and hot glue with the end of the pipe cleaner in between the two pieces.
Use red paint or markers to color veins along the length of the plant and all over the top as well as the inner lip.
Allow the paint to dry completely.
Cut a few more long leaf shapes from green felt and hot glue to pipe cleaners your leaves and plants inside of a pot.
Your small piece of pipe cleaner makes it easy to demonstrate how the plant opens and closes to trap its prey.
