The presence of otherworldly looking insectivorous plants has shrunk for all the obvious environmental reasons, and now another factor may be coming to light. Researchers report in the journal Environmental Science & Technology that cadmium (found in fertilizers and other sources, and picked up by flying insects) disrupts stem growth in the meat-digesting plants. Read more here.

Photo of Pitcher Plants (Nepenthes spp.) taken at
Fourth Mountain Bog at Barren Mountain,
Maine, by Old Man Sky/Picasa.