Plantwatch: The insect-eating alpine plant that proves Darwin was right — SkimNews
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- Charles Darwin predicted in 1875 that Saxifraga candelabrum, a small alpine plant, could eat insects — a hypothesis now confirmed by new research.
- Saxifraga candelabrum traps midges using sweet glue on tiny sticky hairs covering its leaves, petals, and stems, then digests them with enzymes to absorb nitrogen.
- The plant inhabits nutrient-poor soils in the Hengduan mountains of south-west China and carries genes related to those found in known carnivorous plants.
- Wild potatoes Solanum berthaultii and Solanum polyadenium also trap aphids and small pests with sticky hairs, potentially opening a way to combine pest control with natural plant fertilization.
- The study, published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, suggests other sticky-haired plants may follow a similar insect-trapping approach.
Why it matters: Darwin's 1875 prediction now has physical proof, with researchers documenting enzyme-based digestion and gene similarity that confirm the plant as carnivorous — and wild potatoes identified as a dual-purpose crop that traps aphids while fertilizing soil through the same sticky-hair mechanism.
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