A close up of some carnivorous beauties at the Ohio University greenhouse. (WOUB/Emily Votaw)
WOUB premiers Plants Behaving Badly, a two-part series that investigates carnivorous plants in its first installment, airing Wednesday, May 3, at 10 p.m. on WOUB-HD, WOUB Athens (20.1) and WOUC Cambridge (44.1).
The second installment, which looks at orchids and their stealthy methods of attracting pollinators, broadcasts Wednesday, May 10 at 10 p.m
Emily Votaw writes about the new series on WOUB Digital.
Ohio University greenhouse manager Harold Blazier handles the green and crimson speckled, fleshy body of a pitcher plant’s signature pitfall trap on a humid afternoon in early May with a precise gentleness.
He points to a bobbing pool of liquid visible through the thin plant membrane walls.
“That’s where they catch their prey,” he says, pointing at the bobbing remains of tiny flies in the syrupy depths of the plant.
Pitcher plants are one of over 500 species of carnivorous plants, which are defined by their ability to derive some nutrients from trapping and consuming insects or small animals.
Plants Behaving Badly is a two-part series that will investigate carnivorous plants in it’s first installment, airing Wednesday, May 3 at 10 p.m. on WOUB-HD, WOUB Athens (20.1) and WOUC Cambridge (44.1). The second installment, which looks at orchids and their stealthy methods of attracting pollinators, will broadcast Wednesday, May 10 at 10 p.m.
The Ohio University greenhouse has a healthy collection of carnivorous plants, something that might have to do with Blazier’s lifelong passion for them.
Blazier said he fell in love with carnivorous plants the moment he saw one as a young child.
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