Which is NOT a carnivorous plant?

Analyze the question: We need the one plant that does not trap and digest animals (insects) for nutrients.

Concept: Carnivorous (insectivorous) plants grow in nitrogen-poor soils (such as bogs). They make up for this by trapping insects and digesting them. Each has a special trap:

• Bladderwort (Utricularia): small underwater bladders that suck in tiny animals.
• Drosera (sundew): sticky, hair-like tentacles that catch insects.
• Pitcher plant (Nepenthes): jug-shaped leaves with digestive fluid.
• Venus flytrap (Dionaea): hinged leaf blades that snap shut on prey.

Dodder plant (Cuscuta): This is a parasitic plant. It has no chlorophyll (or very little), twines around a host plant, and uses haustoria to absorb food from the host's tissues. It does not trap or digest animals.

Solution:

• A, C, D and E all trap insects, so they are carnivorous.
• B, dodder, feeds on other plants, so it is a parasite, not a carnivore.

Tip: Don't mix up "parasitic" and "carnivorous". Parasitic plants (dodder, mistletoe) take food from living plants. Carnivorous plants (pitcher, sundew, flytrap, bladderwort) catch animals. Remember: dodder = "drains the host".