>B. Hectoides is semi-carnivorous B. Reducta is believed to be wholly
>carnivorous as it has been shown to secrete perfume to attract prey and
>has a host of bacteria and a capacity to absorb nutrients from its prey
>B. tatei - semi carnivorous C. berteroniana - wholly carnivorous
If you replaced "wholly carnivorous" by "sub-carnivorous" (no trace of
endogeneous digestive enzymes in the traps, not even in related species or
genera) and "semi carnivorous" by "non-carnivorous" (or just "bromeliads"),
I could agree with the above.
"wholly carnivorous" vs. "semi carnivorous" are rather unsuitable terms
because these might insinuate a distinction similar to holoparasitic vs.
hemiparasitic. As all known cps do contain chlorophyll and do perform
photosynthesis (which holoparastic plants do not), they must all be
regarded semi carnivorous (at the most).
Bromeliaceae do (as far as it is known) *not* fulfil *all* the criteria of
the carnivorous syndrome (attract, catch, digest, absorb), not even in a
single species. I agree that they (and rather numerous other plants)
approach it to some degree. This can IMHO be expressed appropriately by the
term "sub-carnivorous".
Or would anybody dare to predict the future course of evolution
("pre-carnivorous") when it is frequently difficult enough to reconstruct
the past?
Kind regards
Jan