2022Flora - Sheetlets

Carnivorous or carnivorous plants possess developed mechanisms and adapted organs for attracting prey, capturing it, digesting it and absorbing nutrients. The mechanisms of prey capture and digestion processes differ in different species and have developed as a consequence of the adaptation of species to the lack of certain nutrients that they had to provide in some way. Republic of Srpska is home to several species of carnivorous plants belonging to the genera Drosera, Utricularia and Pinquicula. Drosera rotundifolia L. is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Droseraceae family. The stem of this plant is about 20 cm long and has no leaves. The leaves are in a ground rosette, round in shape and covered with glandular hairs on the rim of which there are drops of mucus. It is these drops that allow her to catch insects. The flowers are white and are located at the top of the stem. The fruit is a cocoon with many seeds. Rosulja attracts insects with its intense reddish color. When the insects stick together, the plant bends the hairs and thus closes the insect, and then begins to secrete digestive enzymes. During digestion, rosulja removes ammonia from insects as well as other nutrients that are not present in the habitats it inhabits. This species is strictly protected in the Republic of Srpska and has been recorded in only 3 localities, on mountain peatlands, which are extremely endangered habitats. Masnica Pinguicula hirtiflora Ten. is a perennial herbaceous plant from the family Lentibulariaceae and is one of the two representatives of the genus Pinguicula in the Republic of Srpska. It has egg-shaped leaves gathered in a ground rosette. The flowers are on long thin stalks and are usually purple or blue. The prey is caught by the glandular hairs on the leaves. This plant inhabits rocks along cold springs and streams. In our country, it has been recorded at only a few sites in the very south of Herzegovina in the vicinity of Trebinje and is a strictly protected species. Author: Tanja Kuruzovic Cooperation: Sara Potkonjak, Master of Science in Biology, Republic Institute for Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage, Publisher: Poste Srpske a.d. Banjaluka