Question
Question: Bladders of _Utricularia_ and pitcher of Nepenthes are modifications of (a)Leaves (b)Stem (c)R...
Bladders of Utricularia and pitcher of Nepenthes are modifications of
(a)Leaves
(b)Stem
(c)Roots
(d)Flowers
Solution
Utricularia or bladderwort and Nepenthes or the pitcher plant are carnivorous plants. These plants rely on ingesting insects for the fulfillment of certain nutrients like nitrogen. To trap and ingest their prey, the part that usually produces the food modifies into special structures like bladders or pitchers.
Complete answer:
Carnivorous or insectivorous plants are the plants that derive most of their nutrients but not energy(which is obtained by photosynthesis) by capturing and ingesting other organisms. They usually grow in areas where the soil lacks many essential nutrients such as nitrogen and hence they develop the insectivorous mechanisms. In order to capture and ingest the insects, these plants develop certain specialized structures, that are usually the modification of their leaves.
In Utricularia , the leaf is modified to form a bladder-like structure that is used to trap the prey and also water. Hence, they are called bladderworts. In Nepenthes, the leaves are modified to form a pitcher which helps to trap the insect inside. Hence, these plants are also known as the pitcher plants. All these trapping mechanism modifications are the functional modification of the leaves of these plants.
So, the correct answer is, “Leaves.”
Note: -There are many other trap mechanisms too such as Snaptrap mechanisms exhibited by the leaves of the Venus flytrap and leaf curling response shown in Drosera.
-Apart from the trapping mechanisms that actually trap the prey, these plants also have bright colours and fragrance to lure the insects or prey towards the traps.
-Philcoxia is a unique plant that shows subterranean stem and leaf modification that are used to capture nematodes.