Carnivorous plants are plants which get nutrients from trapping and eating animals. They are often called insectivorous plants, because they usually trap insects. Since they get some of their food from animals, carnivorous plants can grow in places where the soil is thin, or poor in nutrients. This is true for soils with little nitrogen, such as acidic bogs and rock outcrops. Charles Darwin wrote the first well-known book on carnivorous plants in 1875.