Story behind the art of Tammy McEntee

Curious Allies: Mutualism in Fungi, Parasites, and Carnivores

The Fifth New York Botanical Garden Triennial

Cape Sundew

Drosera capensis x2

Carnivorous plants have always interested me. I can vividly remember feeding bits of raw hamburger meat to a grocery store bought Venus flytrap as a child. I was in awe as it closed its “jaws” around the tiny morsel and devoured it. After talking incessantly about how I would have a home full of flytraps someday, my teacher mother sent me to the library to see if this was indeed a possibility. I was astonished to discover hundreds of species of “meat-eating” plants exist, and that it was possible to have some as houseplants. Living in the suburbs of New Jersey in the seventies, my access was limited to Venus flytraps. But my interest never waned, it just took a backseat to other things.

As an adult and frequent visitor of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden, I discovered the collection of carnivorous plants in a lovely terrarium. My interest was renewed. The glittery sundews were like nothing I had ever seen before. They became my new focus. After some research at the library and on the internet, I found that sundews make nice houseplants just like Venus flytraps and there are plenty of places where you can order them to be delivered directly to your home. Childhood fantasy fulfilled!

Sundews are found on every continent but Antarctica. Some can be as large as three and a third feet tall (Drosera gigantea) or as small as a penny (Drosera pygmaea). My subject, the Cape sundew (Drosera capensis), is native to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. My specimen was about six inches tall.

The plant’s long slim leaves are covered in red tentacles that end in a mucus dew drop. The shiny reflections emanating from these dew drops attract insects which then land on the leaf. The sticky dew holds an insect captive while the tentacles overlap onto it to hold the insect down until the leaf folds around its prey. Within 15 minutes of landing, the insect is trapped and killed. It takes anywhere from five to 14 days for the plant to digest the meal. Since sundews live in boggy areas, the soil lacks nutrients. Insects provide the protein and nitrates the soil lacks.

My sundews have enjoyed a steady diet of fungus gnats and the occasional housefly. I had already done several sketches in anticipation of doing a painting of a Cape sundew when the Curious Allies call for entry was posted.  Perfect, I had my subject! 

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Read more about this artist's work: 26th Annual