Trigger Flowers

While the really overwhelming floral displays were in Western Australia, springtime in Tasmania still offered some delightful blooms. In the book, I mention having seen trigger plants in fields and along the roads.

When I first heard the name, I expected to find out they were carnivorous—though to be honest, only the Venus’s flytrap has a potentially dangerous-sounding name. Sundew and pitcher plant don’t sound threatening, and bladderwort just sounds silly. There are, of course, a number of things with gun-related names that do have mechanisms that help it obtain food (the pistol shrimp, for example). However, the trigger plant is not among those that uses it’s ability to “snap shut” to trap or injure. When triggered, this delicate little flower simply smacks a visiting bug, either dusting it with pollen or picking up pollen from another plant.

Trigger Plant

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1 Comment

Filed under Australia, Book, Geography, Nature, Science, Travel

One response to “Trigger Flowers

  1. Nice shot. They are pretty little plants. We see them too in Kosciuszko National Park.

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