Study reveals many plants are carnivorous

Professor Mark Chase reckons that carnivory should not be treated as a black and white situation, and that plants should be seen as being on a sliding scale between those that show no carnivorous characteristics and those that are proper meat eaters such as the Venus flytrap.

Plants like petunias, tomatoes and potatoes have sticky hairs that trap insects, and some species of campion have the common name catchfly for the same reason. It's now been demonstrated that when the insects they catch fall to the ground, the plant is absorbing the nutrients through its roots.