New Harvard Forest Publication: A Review of Carnivorous Plants

In Honor of Charles Darwin, A Review of Carnivorous Plants

As part of the festivities surrounding the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of his book On the origin of species by means of natural selection, the Journal of Experimental Botany commissioned a series of review articles on topics about which Darwin wrote books. Harvard Forest Senior Ecologist Aaron Ellison was invited to contribute a review on carnivorous plants and reflecting on progress in the field since Darwin published his book Insectivorous plants in 1875. In the review, Ellison and co-author Nicholas Gotelli (University of Vermont) explore progress in systematics, ecophysiology, prey capture, and nutrient dynamics of carnivorous plants, four topics central to Darwin's (1875) book. Their paper leads off the series of Darwin Reviews in the journal, and is accomapnies by cover photographs by Ellison and illustrations by former Harvard Forest Bullard Fellow Elizabeth Farnsworth.

Ellison, A. M., and N. J. Gotelli. 2009. Energetics and the evolution of carnivorous plants - Darwin's "most wonderful plants in the world." Journal of Experimental Botany 60: 19-42.