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Genlisea ( ) is a genus of carnivorous plants also known as corkscrew plants. The 30 or so species grow in wet terrestrial to semi-aquatic environments distributed throughout Africa and Central America and South America. The plants use highly modified underground Leaf to attract, trap and digest minute microfauna, particularly protozoans. Although suggested a century earlier by Charles Darwin, carnivory in the genus was not proven until 1998.
The genus name Genlisea honors the French people writer and educator Stéphanie Félicité Ducrest de St-Albin, comtesse de Genlis.
Several species in the genus, including G. margaretae, Genlisea aurea, and G. tuberosa, possess the smallest known of all .
As stated, Genlisea has a wide range of genetic diversity which can be shown in various phenotypic traits. For example, G. tuberosa develops tubers, one to three occurring per plant. This allows for carbohydrate and water storage as it is found in areas prone to fire. Other species present with a thickened stolon.
Several to many flowers are held by a slender, erect, and often tall inflorescence. As in other members of the Lentibulariaceae, the corolla is fused into a bilobed tube tapering to a spur, with the lower lip of the corolla having three lobes. The calyx is five-lobed, in contrast to Utricularia's three-lobed calyx. Corolla colors are generally yellow or violet to mauve, although a few species are white or cream. The lower lip forms a palate that functions as the guide to the spur that contains the nectar by providing olfactory and mechanical stimuli for nearby pollinators like bees and flies. At a microscopic level, the palate has glandular trichomes, which are small hairs that store and secrete secondary metabolites in order to provide protection from herbivory. The glandular trichomes contain no nectar secretion, suggesting that they are scent glands. These above ground structures are not shown to be directly participating in carnivorous activities.
Depending on species, the photosynthesis leaves are leaf shape to leaf shape in shape and 0.5–5 cm (–2 in) in length.
The subterranean traps are white, lacking chlorophyll or any other . They consist of a cylindrical stalk, widening at some distance below the surface into a hollow bulb-like utricle, and continuing as a hollow cylinder some further distance. At this point the stalk into two furrowed spirals, between which the cylinder opening acts as the trap entrance. The furrows of the spiraled trap arms are lined with hairs pointing inward and toward the bifurcation. The hollow cylinder section leading from the bifurcation to the utricle is likewise lined with upward-pointing curved hairs. Some species produce two trap forms, one shorter and one longer, which probably target different prey groups. These corkscrew-like structures passively capture protozoa and other metazoa. Since these traps occur in soil, they are continuously stimulated due to the vast microfauna found in the soil. Due to continuous stimulation, the plant actively secretes in order to aid with digestion to gain more nitrogen, phosphorus, and other minerals. Phosphatase has been detected in all types of glands, allowing for the breakdown of prey and uptake of phosphorus in low-nutrient soils. Although not completely understood, the oxygen concentration inside Genlisea traps is negligible. For this reason, it is thought that anoxic conditions could be the mechanisms in which prey are killed. At the same time, anaerobic bacteria survive.
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