Frogtongue
Many carnivorous plants can be found in Greymantle bogs, but one of the most iconic is the frogtongue.
The complex leaf structure that makes up the frogtongue's "mouth" consists of a sort of landing pad that is most notable in young plants, and a "tongue" that springs out to catch prey once it has been triggered.
The landing pad leaf of young plants serves as a flat platform with a spongy surface that excretes nectar and scent that lures in small prey. Once a creature is on the pad, the tongue of the plant swings out and down in an arc, landing on prey with an extremely sticky surface.
The way that the prey struggles either causes the plant to release more of its sticky sap and adhere even more strongly, or the plant senses that the fight is not going their way, and so they don't commit anymore resources, allowing the creature to escape if its strong enough. If all goes according to plan though and the creature struggles the correct amount, the tongue leaf begins to unfold to covered its meal while secreting a cocktail of corrosive poisons to further immobilize and begin the digestion process early. Ultimately, the meal ends up sealed within the cocoon created by the unfolded tongue leaf.
In older plants, the landing pad leaf becomes less developed, as its functions become obsolete. By then, the plant has begun to reproduce, and the fruits growing on the modified remnants landing pad leaf are what draw in its prey.
These plants are usually claim large insects and rodents when small, and birds and other small animals once they are a little larger. Only a few grow exceptionally large, but those that do grow to shocking sizes and become frighteningly effective at ensnaring prey even as large as civilized creatures. Their tough, leathery leaves are difficult to harm, and the toxic cocktail of chemicals becomes quite sophisticated and dangerous in large plants.
The complex leaf structure that makes up the frogtongue's "mouth" consists of a sort of landing pad that is most notable in young plants, and a "tongue" that springs out to catch prey once it has been triggered.
The landing pad leaf of young plants serves as a flat platform with a spongy surface that excretes nectar and scent that lures in small prey. Once a creature is on the pad, the tongue of the plant swings out and down in an arc, landing on prey with an extremely sticky surface.
The way that the prey struggles either causes the plant to release more of its sticky sap and adhere even more strongly, or the plant senses that the fight is not going their way, and so they don't commit anymore resources, allowing the creature to escape if its strong enough. If all goes according to plan though and the creature struggles the correct amount, the tongue leaf begins to unfold to covered its meal while secreting a cocktail of corrosive poisons to further immobilize and begin the digestion process early. Ultimately, the meal ends up sealed within the cocoon created by the unfolded tongue leaf.
In older plants, the landing pad leaf becomes less developed, as its functions become obsolete. By then, the plant has begun to reproduce, and the fruits growing on the modified remnants landing pad leaf are what draw in its prey.
These plants are usually claim large insects and rodents when small, and birds and other small animals once they are a little larger. Only a few grow exceptionally large, but those that do grow to shocking sizes and become frighteningly effective at ensnaring prey even as large as civilized creatures. Their tough, leathery leaves are difficult to harm, and the toxic cocktail of chemicals becomes quite sophisticated and dangerous in large plants.
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