Duke engineering students bring pitcher plants to life with educational models
By Katherine Hale, Marketing & Communications Assistant
Look out, “Little Shop of Horrors”—the Duke Gardens education team now has two larger-than-life carnivorous plants of their own. But whereas the fictional Audrey II was a smart-mouthed alien bent on world domination, our “plants” are more botanically accurate and people-friendly scale models of pitcher plants (Sarracenia spp.) that demonstrate their unique adaptations in vivid detail.
The models are the result of an academic partnership with two teams of Engineering 101 students at Duke that offers a chance for freshmen to practice their skills while giving back to the community. Students developed the models based on a core set of guidelines provided by Duke Gardens university partnerships and community engagement program coordinator Kati Henderson, such as being safe and durable enough to be used with children, lightweight and portable enough to be carried across the Gardens’ 55-acre site, waterproof to withstand regular use in outdoor conditions and large enough to be easily appreciated in a 15-person group or classroom setting. Over the course of the semester, each team went from “pitch” to “pitcher plant,” applying their own creative solutions to the challenges.
One model echoes the color and venation of the yellow pitcher plant (S. flava), with a cross-section featuring rubbery projections to mimic the “hairs” inside the pitcher. The other splits open to reveal two distinct pathways. Both provide an up-close and personal glimpse of how real pitcher plants function—something their small size and delicate nature does not allow for, particularly in group settings or large tours. They can also be “fed” with specially created pieces to simulate the capture and digestion of insects.
While the colorful models have a special appeal for children and will augment existing interpretation of the carnivorous plant displays in the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants and Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden, their use is limited only by the imagination. Gardens educators hope to use them in future adult educational programs on botany and native plants, public engagement tables about evolutionary history, connecting with habitat loss in the Rooted Responses to Climate Change program for university students and so much more.
“Pitcher plants are a really fun and interesting plant to talk about all kinds of things people might want to learn about,” explained Henderson. “People notice them and are curious about them, and we can get into conversations about why they’ve adapted to get nutrients from insects due to the soil they live in, how that environment is threatened by climate change and what we can do as a community to change that. You can notice all the different pigments plants make, and how that connects to making art. There are so many possibilities.”
As Henderson told Duke engineering students taking on the project, “We always try to show what we’re teaching, but there are times when that’s not possible, especially with something that’s not visible because it goes on inside the plant, as is the case with pitcher plants.” These new models allow her and the rest of the educational staff to bridge the gap by showing instead of telling—and offering both the engineering students and future visitors a lesson they will never forget.
ABOVE: The front, back and interior of a pitcher plant model.
LEFT: A pitcher plant model inspired by the yellow pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava).
BELOW: Insect-eye views of the fine “hairs” that line the insides of pitcher plants, which force their victims to slide downwards once inside.
Photos by Cathi Bodine
Photos, from top: the front, back and interior of a pitcher plant model; a pitcher plant model inspired by the yellow pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava); insect-eye views of the fine “hairs” that line the insides of pitcher plants, which force their victims to slide downwards once inside. Photos by Cathi Bodine
Questions?
Please contact us at gardens@duke.edu.