Venus Flytrap

The Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is a carnivorous plant that catches its prey (insects and arachnids, mostly flies and spiders) by snapping its leaves closed, much like animals do with their mouths. The edges of the leaves are equipped with teeth-like spikes. Once the insect has been captured, the plant digests and absorbs it. The leaf then opens, and wind and rain remove the remains. Each leaf can digest a limited number of times, after which it withers and dies. The Venus Flytrap may be the source of legends about man-eating plants. The plant's name refers to Venus, the goddess of love and plant life.

Related Topics:
Carnivorous plant - Insect - Arachnid - Flies - Spider - Leaves - Animal - Mouth - Digest - Venus

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The plant grows in a rosette of 4-7 leaves. Each leaf reaches a maximum size of about 3 cm to 7 cm, depending on the time of year http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2300.html. Flytraps that appear to have more than 7 leaves are actually colonies, formed by tubers that have divided.

Related Topics:
Colonies - Tubers

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The tip of the leaf is divided into two hinged lobes that form a trap. There are many traps on a plant, each on their own individual leaf. The trap contains three hair-like cilia that act as triggers for the trap. The inside of the trap has red glands that attract insects. A trigger hair must be touched twice in rapid succession (to prevent natural things like raindrops from triggering it), whereupon the lobes will expand and shut the trap. This action is very fast, typically less than 100 milliseconds. If sensory organs detect protein, the trap closes tighter, and the plant's digestive enzymes are released. This takes about 10 days. However, if the trap closes and the hairs aren't being triggered, it will open after a few hours. It is very rare for a single trap to catch even three insects in its lifetime.

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The Venus flytrap is found in nitrogen-poor bogs in the southeastern United States, mainly within a 100-mile radius of Wilmington, North Carolina. This is why it has to gain nutrients from insects. Collecting wild flytraps is severely restricted by federal and state laws due to its limited range.

Related Topics:
Nitrogen - Bog - Wilmington, North Carolina

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The Venus flytrap is one of a small group of plants that are capable of rapid movement, such as Mimosa and the Telegraph plant. (See also Rapid plant movement.) The geometry and mechanical aspects of the rapid motion are examined, and research published in Nature in January 2005. Fluid drives a mechanical spring action, nevertheless the molecular processes behind the movement are still not understood. (Forterre, et al., 2005)

Related Topics:
Mimosa - Telegraph plant - Rapid plant movement - January - 2005

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