Eaten Alive

Local Club Lets You Get Up Close With Carnivorous Flora

The prey lands. A trap is sprung. The prey struggles but is no match for the enzymes that slowly digest it between vibrant green lobes with tooth-like trichomes.

No, this isn’t a scene out of “Little Shop of Horrors.” It’s the daily eating habit of a Venus flytrap, one of hundreds of carnivorous plant species that capture our imagination.

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“Carnivory in plants has arisen at least 12 different times in 12 different areas around the world,” says Ron Nies, president of the Sacramento Bromeliad and Carnivorous Plant Society. “The whole idea of plants absorbing insects makes sense. They grow in areas with nutrient-poor soils, so they catch insects to supplement their needs.”

Nies and other members meet the third Wednesday of each month at the Shepard Garden and Arts Center in McKinley Park to discuss caring for these fascinating plants. The club’s 53rd annual show and sale June 17–18 is a perfect place to check out various specimens—and maybe even buy a carnivorous plant.

“We like to show them off,” Nies says of the plants that captured his attention while he studied wildlife management at Humboldt State. “I’m really into the sundews at the moment. There are a lot of different types, some

“People can bring in their plant if it doesn’t look quite right and we’ll figure out what’s going on,” Nies says. “Also, if you come to the club, we have a raffle every month where people end up taking plants home.”

If a free plant isn’t incentive enough, here’s another teaser: “If you come to the club or the show, I can explain how the Venus flytrap can count to five,” Nies says.

Consider us intrigued.

The Sacramento Bromeliad and Carnivorous Plant Society Show and Sale will be held Saturday, June 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, June 18, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Shepard Garden and Arts Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd. For information, find the club on Facebook.

Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Previous profiles can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n