Charles Darwin Theorized That These Plants Were Carnivorous 150 Years Ago. A New Study Proves Him Right

As the naturalist predicted in 1875, some Saxifraga plants consume insects—using sticky hairs to trap them

Sara Hashemi | Daily Correspondent

August 6, 2026 3:15 p.m.

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More than 150 years ago, the famed naturalist Charles Darwin hypothesized that two plant species in the genus Saxifraga were carnivorous. He couldn’t prove his hunch before his death, but now, a new study shows that he was correct.

For a plant to be considered carnivorous, it must attract, capture and digest animals. Darwin thought that the sticky hairs on Saxifraga could be used by the plant to trap insects, but his experiments were inconclusive. To revisit his hypothesis, a team of researchers conducted a series of experiments that revealed a Saxifraga species that grows in China can attract and capture flies. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Communications on August 4.

“Talk about an amazing feeling,” study co-author and botanist Doug Soltis at the University of Florida tells New Scientist’s James Woodford. “To have the opportunity to confirm a prediction of Darwin is both humbling and very exciting.”

The species at the center of the study, Saxifraga candelabrum, grows at high altitudes in the Hengduan Mountains. The mature plants had an average of 71 insects stuck to the hairs on their inflorescence branches, while the juvenile plants with less branches had few or no insects trapped. According to the authors, this correlation suggests that plants which have more branches with sticky glandular hairs are more likely to capture insects.

To test the plant’s penchant for meat, the researchers first enclosed flowering S. candelabrum individuals in either glass, which blocked odor, or mesh, which blocked vision. They found that the plants attract insects with their odor and have a selective palate: Effective pollinators were rarely caught in its hairs. “The plant only targets small insects and keeps large pollinators safe,” explains Hang Sun, a study co-author and plant taxonomist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Kunming Institute of Botany, to Jack Tamisiea for the New York Times.

Chemical analysis showed that the plants use an enzyme commonly found in other carnivorous plants called phosphatase to digest their meals. Then, to see whether the plants absorb nutrients from the insects, the researchers labeled fruit flies with a nitrogen isotope. The levels of nitrogen rose in S. candelabrum, but not in another plant used as a control.

Additionally, genetic analysis revealed that the plant shares genes with other carnivorous plants. “Together, these genomic data provide independent evidence that S. candelabrum is a true carnivorous plant,” says Sun to New Scientist.

Carnivory may be far more widespread in plants than previously believed. Soltis tells Sascha Pare at Live Science that he would not be surprised if other members of the Saxifraga family—which also have sticky hairs—are carnivorous, too, just as Darwin predicted.

Botanist Susan Myers of the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, who was not involved in the study, tells Mindy Weisberger at CNN that the research is a reminder of how surprising plants can be.

“We are still barely scratching the surface of botanical knowledge,” she says.

Sara Hashemi is a science writer and fact-checker currently based in New York City. Her work has appeared in Sierra, The Body, Maisonneuve magazine and more.