''Catopsis berteroniana'' , commonly known as the powdery strap airplant or the lantern of the forest,
is an
epiphytic
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
bromeliad thought to be a possible
carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans
Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryot ...
, similar to ''
Brocchinia reducta
''Brocchinia reducta'' is one of a few carnivorous plant, carnivorous Bromeliaceae, bromeliads. It is native to southern Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, and Guyana, and is found in nutrient-poor soil. ''B. reducta'' adapts to different environments ...
'', although the evidence is equivocal. Its native range is from southern
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
to southern
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
It generally grows on the unshaded twigs of trees, and has been shown experimentally to trap more insects in its tank than other bromeliads of comparable size.
There are several other species in the genus, none of which is believed to be carnivorous.
Characteristics
''Catopsis berteroniana'' is an epiphytic insectivorous plant with elongate leaves. These erect leaves overlap to form tube-like structures characteristic of many tank bromeliads.
Rainwater falls and lands in the tubes, forming pools of water called
phytotelma
Phytotelma (plural phytotelmata) is a small water-filled cavity in a terrestrial plant. The water accumulated within these plants may serve as the habitat for associated fauna and flora.
A rich literature in German summarised by Thienemann (19 ...
ta, an aqueous medium filled with copious amounts of nutrients available for the plant to absorb.
This medium is slightly acidic, but very close to neutral; according to algae in bromeliads, the
pH of the phytotelmata of ''Catopsis berteroniana'' is 6.8.
This species has sessile glands located on the plant epidermis that are used to absorb nutrients.
Other species of carnivorous plants, such as ''
Cephalotus
''Cephalotus'' ( or ; Greek: ''κεφαλή'' "head", and ''οὔς''/''ὠτός'' "ear", to describe the head of the anthers) is a genus which contains one species, ''Cephalotus follicularis'' the Albany pitcher plant, a small carnivorous pi ...
'' ''follicularis'', use these glands to secrete enzymes to break down detritus and trap prey. However, ''C. berteroniana'' lacks enzyme production, so this plant breaks down materials using other methods.
An important feature located on the leaves of ''Catopsis berteroniana'' is the presence of a white powder. This powder is released from the leaves of the plant. It is very slippery and reflects ultraviolet light.
Epiphytes
''Catopsis berteroniana'' is an epiphyte, meaning it grows on another host. However, the plant does not receive nutrients from its host via its roots. Instead, the roots attach to the tree in order to provide stability. In turn, nutrients are obtained from its leaves. According to Fish, 1976, plants have moved away from root absorption in relation to adaptations and moved toward foliar procurement and nutrient absorption.
Distribution
''Catopsis berteroniana'' is found in the neotropics, from southern Florida to southern Brazil.
It grows above the tree canopies where it is exposed to a high amount of sunlight. According to Fish, 1976, due to the location of ''Catopsis berteroniana'' above the tree canopies, this species dodges direct competition with other species because they do not need to receive any nutrients from the soil or tree canopies.
In
Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park is an American national park that protects the southern twenty percent of the original Everglades in Florida. The park is the largest tropical wilderness in the United States and the largest wilderness of any kind east ...
in southern Florida, these plants were found at the apex of red mangroves and in areas of limited shade.
One of the major reasons this species is restricted to the neotropics is because the phytotelmata are limited to humid environments.
This is because the plant does not have enough energy available to make up for the excessive evaporation that occurs in very dry climates.
Microhabitat
Phytotelmata of ''Catopsis berteroniana'' serve as homes for many organisms, called
inquiline
In zoology, an inquiline (from Latin ''inquilinus'', "lodger" or "tenant") is an animal that lives commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species. For example, some organisms such as insects may live in the h ...
s. Many types of larvae develop in this medium.
This is a very interesting feature because the major function of phytotelmata is to catch prey, not to support life forms. According to Adlassnig, Peroutka & Lendl, 2010, this plant hosts 11 inquiline species.
''Wyeomyia mitchellii'' is a species of mosquito that develops in the medium of the phytotelmata. It takes about 2 weeks for the larvae to fully develop.
Once they develop, the mosquitoes can escape from the plant without getting trapped by the powder.
Mutualism occurs between ''Catopsis berteroniana'' and these larvae: the plant provides a habitat for the larvae while the larvae help break down nitrogenous nutrients for faster absorption by the plant.
There are also
parasitic
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...
relationships that affect the bromeliad. ''Metamasius callizona'', a weevil, will feed on the meristematic tissue of the ''Catopsis'' species, which will inevitably kill the plant.
Other organisms that use phytotelmata as a home are algae. These organisms are essential to the plant itself. There is an entire food web within the phytotelmata: through anemophilous nutrition, the plant obtains its nutrients from the wind. Algae use these nutrients to grow and then become a food source for other organisms.
Sunlight is a major factor that determines algal growth within the tanks: an increase in transmitted light results in an increase in algal growth.
It shapes the entire food web because algae make up 30% of the living carbon within the bromeliad tanks located in an area with a high amount of sunlight.
Carnivory
Trapping prey is the main mechanism for obtaining nutrients for ''Catopsis berteroniana''. This species uses a passive trap, called a tank, to trap and digest the target. Because this species is insectivorous, the typical prey that get trapped are insects. The purpose of these traps is to obtain inorganic nutrients from the degradation of insects, most commonly nitrogen and phosphorus.
This species is an epiphyte, so most of the insects that get caught in the trap are winged insects. They are lured to the plant by a white powder that is located on the leaves.
This powder reflects UV light, so the insect sees the UV reflection better than visual light, because pollen reflects these wavelengths. The organism falls into the fluid where it cannot escape due to the slippery powder on the leaves. The fluid's purpose is to drown the organisms because most cannot survive in the fluid.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q140782
berteroniana
Carnivorous plants of North America
Carnivorous plants of Central America
Carnivorous plants of South America