Although carnivorous plants have been portrayed as nearly sentient aberrations of nature, the reality is that carnivory developed in multiple, unrelated plant groups as a strategy to survive and thrive in nitrogen-depleted soils. Carnivorous plants are found overwhelmingly, with a few exceptions, in acidic, nutrient-poor soils, where other plants grow slowly if at all. They are found on every continent except Antarctica and can often be found in surprising circumstances.
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