Venus flytrap

Seeds: 10  / Botanical name: Dionaea muscipula

A trap like a leg-hold – faster than any insect

The trapping mechanism of Dionaea muscipula is one of the fastest movements in the plant kingdom, operating at speeds of up to 100 milliseconds. The red coloration of the leaf blade serves to attract prey. The edge of the leaf blade is lined with marginal bristles, and in the center of each of the two leaf halves, there are usually three hair-like trigger hairs. As soon as an insect repeatedly touches a trigger hair or several in quick succession, the trap is triggered at a speed of 6 to 20 centimeters per second. The leaf halves then snap shut like a trap, and the long marginal bristles make escape impossible. A digestive fluid is then secreted from small glands, which dissolves the captured insects and allows the plant cells to absorb the dissolved nutrients. Only indigestible components, such as chitinous exoskeletons, remain. Digestion takes up to ten days, depending on the size of the prey. Afterward, the trap reopens and is ready for the next catch.

Natural habitat: The Venus flytrap is native only to the bogs of the American states of North and South Carolina, where it grows within a radius of approximately 100 kilometers around the city of Wilmington. Its seeds may only be collected by licensed individuals. As a plant, it has been strictly protected since 1992 under the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).