Q: Carnivorous plants of Antarctica--survivors in the frigid south!
A: Antarctica is such a cold, arid environment that very few plant species can survive there.
As far as I know, only two vascular plants occur in Antarctica--the monocot grass
Deschampsia antarctica (Poaceae) and
the dicot pearlwort Colobanthus quitensis (Caryophyllaceae).
If you are not familiar with the term, "vascular plants" are the ones you are familiar with--trees, herbs,
and the like, that contain tissues called xylem and phloem that transport fluids and nutrients. All carnivorous plants are
vascular plants. Non-vascular plants are organisms such as mosses,
liverworts, and green algae.
Perhaps a more interesting question is the identity of the southern-most soccurring species of carnivorous plant.
I am not sure, but I think it is probably Drosera uniflora, from Tierra del Fuego at the southern
tip of South America. That is about 55° S. The other contender for southern distribution might be
Pinguicula antarctica.
Page citations: Rice, B.A. 2006a; personal observation.
