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the pitcher plant and venus flytrap are green plants that can photosynthesize. why do they need to feed on insects

User BruceJo
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Final answer:

Pitcher Plants and Venus Flytraps, also known as carnivorous plants, feed on insects due to their habitat's nutrient-poor soil. They digest these insects to absorb nutrients, particularly nitrogen, that are necessary for their growth.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Pitcher Plant and Venus Flytrap are unique plants known as carnivorous plants. Despite being able to photosynthesize, these plants live in soils that are poor in certain nutrients such as nitrogen, which are necessary for their growth. To compensate, they evolved to trap and digest insects to absorb their nutrients, hence their carnivorous aspect.

Pitcher plants have deep cavities filled with digestive enzymes where insects fall in. Venus Flytraps, on the other hand, have leafy 'jaws' that close when an insect lands on them, trapping the insect inside to be digested.

Learn more about Carnivorous Plants

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