Dangerous Beauties.

I love my work. I am involved in research and am part of a scientific lab. I guess what I find very exciting about my carrier field is that it deals with nature. I take part in investigating the biology of not just the human body, but also the physiology of animals and plants.

Recently, our lab made an excursion to a plantation, positioned within a green house, which grows plants. But not just any plants. These are the plants of a somewhat dangerous kind, the so called Carnivorous plants ("meat-eating" plants).
Not to worry, they are harmless to us, but pose a certain danger to insects. This type of plants include about 630 species that attract and trap their prey, produce digestive enzymes, and absorb the resulting available nutrients.

Despite their somewhat unusual way of living, I find these utterly fascinating. And the place we visited was amazing as well. Square meters of large spaces, humid air scented with soil and shelves filled with nothing but small pots, as long as eye could see. All arranged in a perfect manner, containing unusual forms of life. Some had developed a form of clasping hands (so called Venus Flytrap) with spikes, effectively trapping the insect inside. Some had long sticky leaves containing a certain syrupy glue to hold onto their prey or even pitcher like leaves, posing a danger to anything that wanders within.

Nature is to me a constant source of wonder and awe. Visiting this green house only underlined this notion.