Are there any other sources of energy besides the sun that give plants energy to grow?

Well, carnivorous plants get energy from the sun as well as through eating bugs like flies... however, depending on how you want to go about it, you can trace that back to the sun as well because that fly gets it's energy by eating say some old hamburger which is made from a cow who got its energy from eating grass who got it's energy from the sun... So everything can be traced back to the sun eventually no matter how you look at it, but in the short run, there are carnivorous plants that get energy from the sun and bugs.

Are there any other sources of energy besides the sun that give plants energy to grow?
There are bacteria that obtain energy from chemical reactions rather than photosynthesis (such as at hydrothermal vents (black smokers) in the deep sea), but I do not think bacteria are classified as plants.





I looked up definition of plant and got : Any of various photosynthetic ......, so it seems that, by definition, plants require the ability to convert light into food.





There are definitely plants that consume meat-based sources (such as venus fly trap and plants (not fungi) that grow in decaying materials) but whether they gain energy or just nutrients from this is a good question.





In other words, I don`t know the answer. sorry. D'oh !!!!