Octopus Plant
September 07, 2013
Photographer: Mila Zinkova; Mila's Web page
Summary Author: Mila Zinkova
Shown above is a magnified (60x) photo of an octopus plant with a recent victim. Octopus plants are named for their rosette of leaves each of which has hundreds of sticky tentacles. These plants are carnivorous -- insects are a favorite meal. Like all of its victims, this insect succumbed after being embalmed in drops of a gluey fluid supplied by the tentacles. Digestive enzymes and acids contained in the fluid work to decompose the catch. Photo taken earlier this year near San Francisco, California.