Bromeliaceae

Subfamily Bromelioideae

Description: It is terrestrial rather than epiphytic, grows in nutrient-poor soils in southern Venezuela and Guyana, is seldom shaded by other vegetation, and its tanks often contain dead insects, such as ants. A sweet odor emanating from the tank may be the means of attracting insects. Its leaves, too, produce a waxy powder which, as in Catopsis berteroniana, seems to prevent escape of trapped insects. The highly acid water in its tank may help the action of proteases in digesting insect bodies. Neither this plant nor C. berteroniana has been shown to produce proteases (unlike more familiar carnivorous plants such as Nepenthes and Sarracenia pitcher plants), but it could be argued that production of proteases by these plants would be an unnecessary expenditure of energy when bacterial and fungal decomposition of materials already functions in the tanks, and a means of absorption (trichomes) is present.