A captivating close-up of a sundew plant, with its vivid green leaves adorned in red-tipped, hair-like structures. The sticky droplets at the tips glisten in the light, capturing a small insect, while the dark background contrasts beautifully with the plant's vibrant colors.
Close-up of vibrant purple and white flowers, resembling orchids, growing along a branch. The plants' petals are pointed and layered, with sunlight highlighting their rich color against a blurred background.
Close-up of a lady's slipper orchid, showcasing its vibrant yellow slipper-shaped petal and maroon, curved petals atop. This stunning plant's delicate structure is highlighted against a bright background, with green leaves and stem visible.
Close-up of a tropical pitcher plant, showcasing its deep red, ridged rim and a pool of liquid inside. This intriguing plant stands out amid dried leaves and greenery, perfectly blending into its natural habitat.

Plants behaving badly

Nature & Wildlife·2 x 53 min·Completed

'Plants Behaving Badly' reveals the deceptive behaviors of orchids and carnivorous plants, captivating scientists with their survival strategies.

Factsheet

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information
Unblock content Accept required service and unblock content
Genre
Nature & Wildlife
Science
Duration
2 × 53 min
Definition
HD
Audio
5.1
Status
Completed
Back to all projects

Synopsis

Additionally available in Spanish

Two groups of plants exhibit such intriguing behaviour that a century and a half ago they attracted the attention of Charles Darwin. These same plants, the orchids and the carnivorous plants, still fascinate scientists today. In two one hour films, ‘Plants behaving badly’ reveals a world of deceit and treachery worthy of any fictional thriller.

Part 1: CARNIVOROUS PLANTS
Scientists have recently shown that many more plants are carnivorous than we had ever thought. Welcome to the world of killer tomatoes and murderous potatoes. Even the more well-known carnivorous plants – sundews, flytraps and pitchers – are revealing new behaviour.

Pitcher plants sometimes need to form partnerships with insects. Mosquito larvae live inside North American pitchers, where they break up drowned prey and help the plant digest it. But in Borneo, one giant pitcher has formed a remarkable relationship with a single species of ant. The pitcher has swollen tendrils, to house the ants. The ants dive into the pitcher fluid to retrieve drowned insects to feed on – but in tearing these up they also help the plant digest the prey. Carnivorous plants have featured in many sci-fi films over the years, but the reality turns out to be far stranger than the fiction.

Part 2: ORCHIDS
Darwin’s book ‘On the Origin of Species’ shook the scientific world and far beyond. Yet it was his next book, devoted entirely to orchids, which filled in gaps and clarified his revolutionary ideas. Orchids have an ethereal beauty, whether growing hundreds of feet up in a misty rainforest or along the verges of busy suburban roads. But their exotic flowers are shaped for just one purpose – to seduce pollinators. Many use sex as a lure by impersonating a female bee or wasp.

Orchids produce thousands of seeds, which are so small that they contain no food reserves. They can only germinate with the help of specific fungi in the soil. In the past, this made orchids hard to grow from seed, a problem now solved by hi-tech laboratories. This means that some of the rarest plants can be re-introduced to old haunts but these projects are carried out in such secrecy, it’s like something from a spy movie.

Team

Written and directed by Steve Nicholls
Executive producers Martin Mészáros, Sabine Holzer
Production companies Produced by Sky Vision for Terra Mater Factual Studios

Awards & Recognitions

New York, USA New York Festivals® International TV & Film Awards Bronze World Medal (Category: Nature & Wildlife) 2014
Redondo Beach, USA US International Film & Video Festival Silver Screen Award Episode 01 (Category: Documentary Programs - Nature & Wildlife) 2014
Redondo Beach, USA US International Film & Video Festival Gold Camera Episode 02 (Category: Documentary Programs - Nature & Wildlife) 2014
Bethesda, USA CINE Golden Eagle Awards Special Recognition for Televised Series 2013
Rotterdam, Netherlands Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam Official Selection Episode 01 2015
Distributor

Talk to our Distributor

Interested in licensing and watching the full production? Contact our distributor here.

Get in touch
Footage rights

Licensing & Usage

Interested in licensing or footage usage?
Contact us directly.

Get in touch

In the same Genre