{"id":93,"date":"2015-08-05T15:24:20","date_gmt":"2015-08-05T15:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.berry.edu\/cborer\/?page_id=93"},"modified":"2015-08-31T15:16:31","modified_gmt":"2015-08-31T15:16:31","slug":"venus-flytrap","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.berry.edu\/cborer\/inventory\/venus-flytrap\/","title":{"rendered":"Venus Flytrap"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dionaea muscipula<\/p>\n

\"flytrap1\"<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Description<\/span><\/th>\nA “rosette” of four to six leaves, each with a trap on the end. A trap consists of two lobes with small trigger hairs, called trichomes, that are sensitive to the prey’s movement. The insides of the lobes contain a red pigment called anthocyanin.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Area<\/span><\/th>\n\n

Boggy, humid areas of North and South Carolina, which are generally low in nitrogen and have a high insect population.<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to its popularity with horticulturists, it is now rare in its natural habitat and is predominantly grown in greenhouses.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Special Characteristics<\/span><\/th>\nSince it lives in less-than-favorable soil, the Venus Flytrap supplements nitrogen from eating insects. When a sufficiently-sized insect lands on a lobe of a trap, the lobes will snap shut in less than one second. The mechanism for snapping shut is thought to be something like a neuron firing an action potential, involving signaling calcium ions. Too small prey can escape through the widely-spaced cilia (“teeth”) of the trap, as the plant would only waste energy digesting tiny prey.The lobes then invert to a convex chamber and secrete digestive enzymes to dissolve the insides of the prey. It will also produce antiseptic liquids to prevent the prey from decaying as it is digested.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reproduction<\/span><\/th>\nThe Venus Flytrap blooms white flowers on a stalk well above the traps, as to avoid consuming pollenating insects. If grown from a seed, it will take 3 to 5 years to grow a mature plant. The Flytrap can also reproduce through leaf pullings (vegetative).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Trivia<\/span><\/th>\n\n

With proper care, the Venus Flytap can live up to 20 or 30 years!<\/p>\n

There are many unique Venus Flytrap cultivars, or variations cultivated for specific genetic mutations. Some of these include the “Akai Ryu (Red Dragon)”, known for its striking deep red-pigmented, and the “Dentate” variety, with saw-like teeth. This page<\/a> contains more information about the different Flytrap cultivars.<\/p>\n

The Venus Flytrap’s evolutionary history is poorly understood, but it is thought that the Venus Flytrap evolved from another carnivorous plant called a sundew.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/caption>\n
\n\"venus_flytrap_sxc\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"venus_flytrap_wild\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The stems without traps will form buds and then flower. Also, note the rosette arrangement of stems.<\/td>\nA Venus Flytrap consuming a bee. Note how the cilia on the lobes prevent escape.<\/p>\n

(Image from stock.xchange)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

The Venus Flytrap in nature.<\/p>\n

(Image from sarracenia.com)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dionaea muscipula Description A “rosette” of four to six leaves, each with a trap on the end. A trap consists of two lobes with small trigger hairs, called trichomes, that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":0,"parent":90,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"page-templates\/full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-93","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.berry.edu\/cborer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.berry.edu\/cborer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.berry.edu\/cborer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.berry.edu\/cborer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.berry.edu\/cborer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.berry.edu\/cborer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114,"href":"https:\/\/sites.berry.edu\/cborer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93\/revisions\/114"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.berry.edu\/cborer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/90"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.berry.edu\/cborer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}