Genlisea
Genlisea (/ˌdʒɛnlɪˈsiːə/ JEN-liss-EE-ə) is a genus of carnivorous plants also known as corkscrew plants. The 30 or so species grow in wet terrestrial to semi-aquatic environments distributed throughout Africa and Central and South America. The plants use highly modified underground leaves to attract, trap and digest minute microfauna, particularly protozoans. Although suggested a century earlier by Charles Darwin, carnivory in the genus was not proven until 1998.[1]
The generic name Genlisea honors the French writer and educator Stéphanie Félicité Ducrest de St-Albin, comtesse de Genlis.[2]
Several species in the genus, including G. margaretae, G. aurea, and G. tuberosa, possess the smallest known genomes of all flowering plants.[3][4][5]
As stated, Genlisea has a wide range of genetic diversity which can be shown in various phenotypic traits. For example, G. tuberosa develops tubers, 1-3 occurring per plant. This allows for carbohydrate and water storage as it is found in areas prone to fire. Other species present with a thickened stolon.[6]
Genlisea are small herbs, growing from a slender rhizome and bearing two morphologically distinct leaf types - photosynthetic foliage leaves aboveground and highly modified subterranean leaves used to trap prey. The plants lack roots, although the subterranean traps perform many of the functions normally performed by roots, such as anchorage and absorption of water and nutrients.
Several to many flowers are held by a slender, erect, and often tall inflorescence. As in other members of the bladderwort family, the corolla is fused into a bilobed tube tapering to a spur, with the lower lip of the corolla having three lobes.[2] The calyx is five-lobed, in contrast to Utricularia's three-lobed calyx.[7] Corolla colors are generally yellow or violet to mauve, although a few species are white or cream.[7] The lower lip forms a palate that functions as the guide to the spur that contains the nectar by providing olfactory and mechanical stimuli for nearby pollinators like bees and flies. At a microscopic level, the palate has glandular trichomes,[8] which are small hairs that store and secrete secondary metabolites in order to provide protection from herbivory.[9] The glandular trichomes contain no nectar secretion, suggesting that they are scent glands.[8] These above ground structures are not shown to be directly participating in carnivorous activities.
