Nepenthes

The Nepenthes, popularly known as tropical pitcher plants or monkey cups, are a genus of carnivorous plants in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus comprises roughly 130 species, numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are mostly liana-forming plants of the Old World tropics, ranging from South China, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines; westward to Madagascar and the Seychelles ; southward to Australia and New Caledonia; and northward to India and Sri Lanka . The greatest diversity occurs on Borneo and Sumatra with many endemic species. Many are plants of hot humid lowland areas, but the majority are tropical montane plants, receiving warm days but cool to cold humid nights year round. A few are considered tropical alpine with cool days and nights near freezing. The name monkey cups refers to the fact that monkeys have been observed drinking rainwater from these plants.

Drosera
Drosera, commonly known as the sundews, comprise one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous glands covering their leaf surface. The insects are used to supplement the poor mineral nutrition of the soil in which they grow. Various species, which vary greatly in size and form, can be found growing natively on every continent except Antarctica. Both the botanical name as well as the English common name (sundew, derived from Latin ros solis, meaning "dew of the sun") refer to the glistening drops of mucilage at the tip of each tentacle that resemble drops of morning dew.

Butterworts
The butterworts are a group of carnivorous plants comprising the genus Pinguicula. Members of this genus use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they obtain from the environments. Of the roughly 80 currently known species, 12 are native to Europe, 9 to North America, and some in northern Asia. The largest number of species is in South and Central America.

Venus Flytrap
The Venus Flytrap (also Venus's Flytrap or Venus' Flytrap), Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal prey mostly insects and arachnids. Its trapping structure is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves and is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces. When an insect or spider crawling along the leaves contacts a hair, the trap closes if a different hair is contacted within twenty seconds of the first strike. The requirement of redundant triggering in this mechanism serves as a safeguard against a waste of energy in trapping objects with no nutritional value.

Darlingtonia californica
Darlingtonia californica also called the California Pitcher plant, Cobra Lily, or Cobra Plant, is a carnivorous plant, the sole member of the genus Darlingtonia in the family Sarraceniaceae. It is native to Northern California and Oregon, growing in bogs and seeps with cold running water. This plant is designated as uncommon due to its rarity in the field. The name Cobra Lily stems from the resemblance of its tubular leaves to a rearing cobra, complete with a forked leafranging from yellow to purplish-greenthat resemble fangs or a serpent's tongue. The plant was discovered in 1841 by the botanist William D. Brackenridge at Mount Shasta. In 1853 it was described by John Torrey, who named the genus Darlingtonia after the Philadelphian botanist William Darlington (17821863).

Brocchinia reducta
Brocchinia reducta is one of few carnivorous bromeliads. It is native to southern Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana, and is found in nutrient-poor soil. B. reducta, like many other bromeliads, forms a water-storing cup with its tightly-overlapping leaves. The leaves surrounding the cup of B. reducta are coated with loose, waxy scales. These scales are highly reflective of ultraviolet light. Since many insects are attracted to ultraviolet (it is also reflected by many flowers), this is an efficient lure. The water in the cup also emits a sweet odor, which may serve to attract ants and other insects. The scales, being loose, provide a poor foothold for insects landing on them. The unfortunate creatures slip into the water-filled cup and eventually drown. It has been argued that B. reducta is not actually carnivorous in the sense of other such plants because the production of digestive enzymes could not be found. However, in 2005 it was shown that the plant produces at least phosphatase and thus is a carnivorous plant in sensu stricto. The enzymes and bacteria digest the trapped insects and thus release the nutrients for absorption by the leaves.