Carnivorous plants on display in Colombia

Killer plants have gone on display in a new exhibition at a Colombian nature reserve.

The exhibition, at the Bioparque La Reserva in Cota, a town near Bogota, will offer visitors the chance to learn about the plant world’s most deadly members.

The strange Monkey Jug and the sticky Dewdrop are among the weird and wonderful creatures that will be on show, alongside age-old favorite the Venus Fly Trap.

Julian Gamboa, from Colina Carnivora, a Colombian organization which is running the exhibition, described the different methods used by the plants to catch their prey — which ranges from microorganisms and insects to small birds and reptiles.

“Some have mouths shaped like leaves which close when they feel something, trapping their prey and dissolving them to absorb their nutrients,” he told Colombia Reports.

“Others have sticky leaves that attract their prey with sticky liquid. Others have traps in the form of vases filled with sweet nectar, attracting [the prey] which falls in and drowns.”

Some of the plants on display are in danger of extinction. All are an important part of the ecosystem, said Gamboa.

“The World of Carnivorous Plants” opened Friday at Cota’s Bioparque La Reserva, which is 20 minutes by car from Bogota.

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