Pitcher plants’ deadly bouquet seduces prey

Pitcher plant species have been discovered to be tailoring their bouquet of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to attract specific insects into their tubular traps.

Researchers in France focused on Sarracenia pitchers, a group native to the eastern US popular as house plants due to their colourful tubular leaves. Four Sarracenia species that varied in leaf shape were chosen for experiments at Montpellier University. One was S. purpurea, a popular horticultural plant, and another was a natural hybrid, Sarracenia x mitchelliana, from the southern US. The other two plants were horticultural hybrids.