96/150: Surprisingly the butterwort lacks both butter and warts, but it does eat insects!

Plantae: Magnoliophyta: Magnoliopsida: Lamiales: Pinguicula vulgaris (Linnaeus)

The common butterwort is an insectivorous plant that has some special basal leaves. The bright green leaves have glandular hairs that produce a sticky substance to trap insects and enzymes to break them down. Once an insect has been trapped, the plant curls its leaves in and digests it. The insects digested by this plant are not necessary for survival, but are eaten to obtain nitrogen, which is usually lacking in their habitat. Butterworts are a hardy circumpolar plant, typically found more north than most plant diversity. They can be found in moist alkaline habitats, like shorelines, northern fens, and marshy soils. The butterwort may look like an innocent violet from first glance, but in reality, this plant is quite an interesting predator. #Canada150 #Biodiversity150

Here’s the barcode sequence information for this species:

Process ID: MKPCH225-09

nucleotide sequence

AGTGTTGGATTCAAAGCGGGTGTTAAAGAGTACAAATTGACTTATTATACTCCTGAATACGAAACCAAAGATACAGATATCTTGGCAGCATTTCGAGTAACCCCTCAACCGGGGGTTCCACCGGAAGAAGCAGGGGCCGCAGTAGCTGCCGAATCTTCTACTGGTACATGGACAACTGTGTGGACCGATGGACTTACCAGCCTTGATCGTTACAAAGGACGATGCTACAACATCGAGCCTGTTCCTGGAGAAACAGATCAATATATCTGTTATGTAGCTTATCCTTTAGACCTTTTTGAAGAAGGTTCTGTTACTAACATGTTTACTTCCATTGTAGGAAATGTATTTGGATTCAAAGCCCTGCGTGCTCTACGTCTGGAGGATCTGCGAATCCCTCCTGCTTATGTTAAAACTTTCCAAGGACCGCCTCATGGAATCCAAGTTGAGAGAGATAAATTGAACAAGTATGGTCGTCCCCTGTTGGGATGTACTATTAAACCTAAATTGGGGTTATCTGCTAAAAACTACGGTAGAGCAGTTTATGAATGTCTT

amino acid sequence

SVGFKAGVKEYKLTYYTPEYETKDTDILAAFRVTPQPGVPPEEAGAAVAAESSTGTWTTVWTDGLTSLDRYKGRCYNIEPVPGETDQYICYVAYPLDLFEEGSVTNMFTSIVGNVFGFKALRALRLEDLRIPPAYVKTFQGPPHGIQVERDKLNKYGRPLLGCTIKPKLGLSAKNYGRAVYECL

Title Image: A Butterwort plant from Japan
Photo Credit: Qwert1234 goo.gl/wrjXL9