A Quiz Deck on Green Gardening Essentials This pocket-sized guide to organic gardening really can hold its own as a quiz deck, with Q&As that are engaging and entertaining, as well as informative. By Don Root. Size: 3 1/4 x 4". ISBN 0-7649-3372-8. See also The Earth-Friendly House Knowledge cards. Sample card, True or False? Carnivorous plants are native only to the tropics. Answer: false. Provided they don’t grow big enough to eat you, carnivorous plants can add a uniquely green bug-reducing element to your garden. These macabre miracles of Mother Nature lure insects into an inescapable trap, then secrete enzymes that dissolve and digest the hapless bugs. Nearly 600 species exist; the following inhabit the United States. The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) has leaves that snap together when an insect alights, trapping the victim inside. Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) and butterwort (Pinguicula spp.) have leaves covered with sticky hairs that pin the bugs in place; the butterwort’s sticky leaves also roll up, further ensnaring the victim. Pitcher plants (Sarracenia spp.) trap insects with a pool of sticky fluid at the bottom of their pitcher-like leaves, as does darlingtonia (Chrysamphora spp.), whose wide head atop a serpent-like stalk gives it the nickname “cobra orchid.” One other carnivorous plant, the bladderwort (Utricularia spp.), lives in pools and captures water bugs using a “trap door.” |
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