A worm measuring only a millimeter in length scoots its way through relatively massive grains of white sand. The worm, known as a nematode or roundworm, is seeking lunch in the form of bacteria. Suddenly, however, its journey is interrupted: it is caught on a large green surface. Unable to wiggle free the worm is slowly digested, becoming lunch itself for an innocuous purple flower called Philcoxia minensis.
A worm measuring only a millimeter in length scoots its way through relatively massive grains of white sand. The worm, known as a nematode or roundworm, is seeking lunch in the form of bacteria. Suddenly, however, its journey is interrupted: it is caught on a large green surface. Unable to wiggle free the worm is slowly digested, becoming lunch itself for an innocuous purple flower called Philcoxia minensis.
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As bizarre as this scenario sounds, a new paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) outlines the subterranean predatory behavior of a the Philcoxia minensis in the Brazilian cerrado. Employing sticky leaves that grow under the sand, the flower is able to catch tiny roundworms for sustenance in a low-nutrient environment.
For further information and photo: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0109-hance_philcoxia.html#ixzz1j5WFEHGv
