Overview
- Researchers published a Nature Communications paper on Aug. 4, 2026, that provides four lines of evidence showing Saxifraga candelabrum attracts prey, traps them on sticky glandular hairs, digests them with phosphatase enzymes and absorbs their nitrogen.
- Fieldwork and herbarium surveys found insects on 43 of 45 specimens and mature plants averaged about 71 trapped small insects, while scent tests showed the plant uses floral odors to lure tiny gnats without holding larger pollinators.
- Stable isotope feeding trials using nitrogen-15 labeled fruit flies traced insect-derived nitrogen into plant tissues and found the highest concentrations in flowers, implying the nutrients support reproduction.
- Genomic analyses revealed shared genes linked to attraction, digestion and nutrient uptake that parallel those in known carnivorous plants, suggesting convergent molecular routes to carnivory.
- The finding confirms Charles Darwin’s 1875 hypothesis for sticky Saxifraga types and raises the prospect that other common flowering plants with glandular hairs may quietly supplement nutrients by eating insects.