The Venus Flytrap

Dionaea muscipula

Kingdom: Plantae                                   

Phylum: Anthophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Caryophyllales

Family: Droseraceae

Genus: Dionaea

Species: muscipula

Common Name: Venus Flytrap

Dionaea muscipula is commonly known as the Venus flytrap. D. muscipula was the first plant to be thought of as carnivorous. It has an active trapping mechanism to capture insects with one of the most rapid movements in the plant kingdom. The trap closure consists of three phases: a silent phase with no movement that can be seen by the eye, an accelerated movement of the lobes, and then relaxation of the lobes in their closed state. There are trigger hairs inside of the plant on the lobes. When an insect lands on the trigger hairs the trap closes and suffocates the insect to death. It takes about 24 hours for the trap to re-open. It can go without food for almost two months. During the springtime, the D. muscipula can be killed by the very insects it eats- the bugs can bite back! It has recently been noticed that the species, muscipula is becoming extinct.   

Literature Cited:

Hodick, D., & Sievers, A. (1989). On the mechanism of trap closure of Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula Ellis). Planta, 179, 32-42.