Venus FlyTrap
CARNIVOROUS PLANTS
flytrap, (Dionaea muscipula), also called Venus’s
flytrap, perennial carnivorous plant of the sundew family (Droseraceae),
notable for its unusual habit of catching and digesting insects and
other small animals. The only member of its genus, the plant is native
to a small region of North and South Carolina, where it is common in
damp mossy areas. As photosynthetic plants, Venus flytraps do not rely
on carnivory for energy but rather use the nitrogen-rich animal proteins
to enable their survival in marginal soil conditions.
The plant, which grows from a bulblike rootstock, bears a group of small
white flowers at the tip of an erect stem 20–30 cm (8–12 inches) tall.