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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Paul Simons

Plantwatch: The insect-eating alpine plant that proves Darwin was right

A seated statue of Charles Darwin in Shrewsbury
Charles Darwin’s long-standing hypothesis that some Saxifraga species might show carnivorous behaviour has been vindicated. Photograph: Dan Wrench/Getty Images/iStockphoto

In 1875, Charles Darwin predicted that Saxifraga candelabrum, a small alpine plant, could eat insects.

Its leaves, petals and stems are smothered in tiny, sticky hairs and – just as the evolutionary biologist suspected – the sweet glue on the hairs can lure and trap midges before digesting them with an enzyme.

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