MediumBiologyHigh School (11–12)Diversity of Living Organisms › Kingdoms Plantae and AnimaliaConceptual
The pitcher plant drowns insects in its pitchers, the sundew traps them on sticky hairs, and the…
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The pitcher plant drowns insects in its pitchers, the sundew traps them on sticky hairs, and the dodder (Cuscuta) winds round other plants and takes food from them. Why are all three still in kingdom Plantae?
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
Plantae: eukaryotes with chlorophyll, cell walls of cellulose, mostly autotrophic (a few partly heterotrophic: insectivorous plants and Cuscuta), and a life cycle that alternates a diploid sporophyte () and a haploid gametophyte (). Animalia: many-celled heterotrophs with no cell wall, holozoic nutrition (food taken in and digested inside), reserve food as glycogen or fat, and mostly sexual reproduction.
The worked solution
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Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. The insect-eaters. The pitcher plant and the sundew have chlorophyll and make food by photosynthesis. They take in insects for extra nutrients, so they are only partly heterotrophic.
Step 2. The dodder. Cuscuta is a parasite, but its body is that of a flowering plant.
Step 3. Why Plantae. All three are many-celled eukaryotes with walls of cellulose and the life cycle of plants.
Answer: they have the cells, walls and life cycle of plants; their heterotrophy is only partial.
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