Carnivorous Plant: Venus Flytrap

Today we will talk about a unique plant of the botanical world Venus Flytrap. You may have seen a lot of plants and they get food from the soil through the roots and through the leaves. But there are some plants that use organisms(insects) as food. Such organisms are butterflies, spiders, etc. Such plants use organisms(insects) as food, which is why they are called carnivorous plants.

There are about 1000 or more species of carnivorous plants in the world and all of these plants have different hunting techniques. Below are some examples of carnivorous plants.

- Venus Flytrap
- Drosera Capensis
- California Pitcher Plant
- Purple Pitcher Plant
- Yellow Pitcher Plant
- Cephalotus Follicularis etc.

There are a lot of carnivorous plants in the world but the Venus Flytrap looks beautiful so today we will talk about it.

Venus Flytrap

Let us now look at Venus Flytrap from a botanical point of view.

The Venus Flytrap is found all over the world but is more common in the North and South Carolina of the USA.

Arthur Dobbs, the governor of North Carolina, was the first to write about the Venus Flytrap. Which is given below.

Arthur Dobbs-Dionaea muscipula
From a morphological point of view, Venus Flytrap has a stem 20-30 cm (8-12 inches) high and leaves are 8-15 cm (3-6 inches) long. It leaves are beautiful, attractive, and sensitive and one more thing is its leaves are open. Venus Flytrap plants grow white flowers. 

Venus Flytrap Flower

What eats a Venus Flytrap?

Venus Flytrap eats ants, small beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, millipedes, suitably sized slugs, sowbugs, butterfly, and other small-sized insects. Venus Flytrap not only eats insects for nutrition but also needs water, sunlight, and gases like other normal plants.

How does the Venus Flytrap work?

Now let's talk about the special leaves in the Venus Flytrap that are used to hunt those insects. Its leaves are beautiful and attractive so the insects are attracted to it and as the insects sit on the leaves so the leaf gets budded and then it gets food from it. The hair on the outer edge of the leaf is called cilia and the hair on the inside of the leaf is called trigger hair. This hair helps in hunting insects.

Once the Venus Flytrap preys upon it takes 10 days to digest it and after 10 days it opens and ready for hunting new insects. After killing 3 to 4 insects, the leaf dies.

When Venus Flytrap Hunting

Do Venus Flytrap smell?

Venus Flytrap does not smell because they produce nectar.

Uses of Venus Flytrap

Venus Flytrap is also sometimes used as the main ingredient in medicine. According to the American Cancer Society, it is used as the main ingredient in the treatment of other diseases including HIV, Crohn's disease, and Skin Cancer.

Since Venus Flytrap does not harm humans, people also grow it in the pots of the house. Many people also grow it in Patio, Lawns, and Gardens and now Venus flytrap is available online, as well as on the Amazon website/app. From this, it can be seen that people also do business by selling Venus Flytrap.

Venus Flytrap in Pot

How long does Venus Flytrap live?

Generally, Venus Flytrap plants are more likely to die in winter and can live for a maximum of 20 years.

Can Venus Flytrap eat humans?

Many of you have got seen the horrific sort of this plant in the Hollywood movie, where he takes his prey from big animals to humans, but actually, it is not so big that it can not make humans and animals prey there too.

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