Short answers, pulled from the story.
Charles Darwin concluded that true carnivory requires an organism to capture prey within a specialized trap structure, actively kill the captured animal or protozoan, digest the dead prey using enzymes or bacteria, absorb nutrients from the digested material, and ensure those absorbed nutrients directly support growth and development. Only plants meeting all five conditions qualify as truly carnivorous.
Carnivory evolved independently at least twelve times across five different orders of flowering plants. Molecular studies over the past three decades have confirmed this convergent evolution with the oldest lineage dating back approximately 85.6 million years while Brocchinia reducta emerged only 1.9 million years ago.
Nineteen species in North America face specific dangers while fifteen species confront similar issues in Asia. The IUCN assessed only 17% of species as of 2011 leaving many unknown threats unquantified regarding habitat destruction from agriculture mining and residential development.
Most species demand rainwater or distilled water free of calcium salts that kill them quickly because tap water contains minerals causing rapid buildup leading to plant death within weeks. A mixture of Sphagnum peat and sharp horticultural sand provides ideal nutrient-poor substrate for these plants.
Charles Darwin published Insectivorous Plants in 1875 to describe years of painstaking research on these unique organisms. His treatise established the field and challenged existing ideas about plant capabilities by concluding that true carnivory requires five specific biological criteria to be met by any plant species.