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The Venus flytrap
A small carnivorous plant whose leaves snap shut in a fraction of a second.
Click a picture to enlarge it.
The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) grows naturally in the wetlands of North and South Carolina. Its traps are modified leaves lined with tiny trigger hairs. Open the sections below to learn more.
Quick facts
How does the trap work?
Each trap has trigger hairs on its inner surface. Two touches within about twenty seconds make the lobes snap shut, which keeps the plant from reacting to raindrops.
What does it eat?
Mostly insects and spiders. Once the trap closes tightly, digestion takes about a week or more, and then the trap reopens. Each trap can catch only a few meals before it turns black and dies.
Where does it grow?
In nutrient-poor, acidic, boggy soil with plenty of sun. Its natural range is small, and habitat loss and poaching threaten wild populations.
How to care for it?
Give it bright light, keep the soil wet, and water with distilled or rain water. Avoid fertilizer, and do not trigger the traps for fun.
Does it sleep in winter?
Yes. It needs a cool dormant period of a few months, during which growth slows and the traps stay small.
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