Two newly discovered Andes Mountain plant species have an appetite for insects

An international team of botanists recently discovered two new species of carnivorous plants in the high Andes of southern Ecuador near the Peruvian border. Both species are described in a study published March 24 in the journal PhytoKeys and part of the butterworts group. This group of about 115 species of flowering plants can catch and digest small insects with their sticky leaves. Carnivorous plants use these animals as an additional food source to compensate for any nutritional deficiencies in the soil they're growing in.
Eating insects gives these plants a competitive advantage over other plants and helps them thrive in challenging habitats like the tropical high Andes Mountains.
Two newly discovered Andes Mountain plant species have an appetite for insects