Roundleaf Sundew, Cattail and Puncture Weed

The plant roundleaf sundew, (scientific name: Drosera rotundifolia) occurs naturally, but is rare in wetlands. The plant is currently endangered in Illinois, and Iowa. In New York it is exploitably vulnerable, meaning that it will likely become endangered if nothing in the environment changes.

It is a carnivorous plant that exists in areas with little nutrients. That is why the plants are carnivorous; they have adapted to low nutrient soil by being a consumer. A roundleaf sundew can live in bogs, because bogs don’t have a lot of nutrients in the soil. Its leaves/petals are covered in hairs with dew-drop like tips. The dew covered tips catch insects.

Cattail is probably the first plant to come to mind when people think of wetlands. They are basically grass with a brown top. Cattails provide food, nesting, shelter and cover for many wetland residents. You will commonly find Red-winged Blackbirds perching precariously to the tufted end of a cattail.

Another common plant is called Puncture Weed. Puncture Weed is a vine that is though of as a nuisance to many. The vine is covered in thorns that can puncture bike tires! For U.S. wetlands this is a foreign plant so it doesn’t serve much a purpose. In its native environments various bugs eat the plant.

Why do you think that foreign plants don’t serve much a use in an environment?

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=DRRO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG8j7dV7MBA

http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/aquatics/droserarot.html

http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=2822

http://www.uen.org/utahlink/tours/tourViewCategory.cgi?tour_id=1006&category_id=1010

http://www.weedalert.com/weed_pages/wa_puncture_vine.htm

http://www.uen.org/utahlink/tours/tourImage.cgi?image_id=1223&tour_id=1006&category_id=1010

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/onslow/staff/drashash/cattail.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjwh4ghZx3A