Table 1. The Genera of Carnivorous Plants1
| Family | Genus | Number of Species2 |
Common Name |
Geographic Range3 |
Kind of Trap/ Analogous Structure |
| Sarraceniaceae | Sarracenia | 8 | Pitcher plant | Eastern N. America | Passive/pitfall |
| Darlingtonia | 1 | Cobra lily | California, Oregon | ||
| Heliamphora | 6 | Northern S. America | |||
| Nepenthaceae | Nepenthes | 75 | Tropics of E. hemisphere | ||
| Cephalotoceae | Cephalotus | 1 | S.W. Australia | ||
| Droseraceae | Dionaea | 1 | Venus flytrap | N. and S. Carolina | Active/steel trap |
| Aldrovanda | 1 | Warm areas of E. hemisphere | |||
| Drosera | 130 | Sundew | Worldwide | Active/flypaper | |
| Drosophyllum | 1 | Morocco, Portugal, Spain | Passive/flypaper | ||
| Byblidaceae | Byblis | 2 | W. Australia | ||
| Lentibulariaceae | Pinguicula | 50 | Butterwort | N. hemisphere, S. America | Active/flypaper |
| Utricularia | 170 | Bladderwort | Worldwide | Active/mousetrap | |
| Biovularia | 2 | Cuba, Eastern S. America | |||
| Polypompholyx | 2 | Australia | |||
| Genlisea | 14 | Brazil, W. African tropics | Passive/lobster trap |
Footnotes:
1 Based on Shetler (1972), Lloyd (1942), Ziemer and Mazrimas (1974).
2 Numbers over 14 are approximate.
3 Generally found in areas of low nitrogen and high moisture. Exception: Drosophyllum grows in dry, gravelly areas.
Return to Part I of the Literature Review.
Page last modified on 1/8/98 at 5:15 PM, CST.
John Lindquist, Department of Bacteriology,
University of Wisconsin – Madison