|
Dionaea muscipula (Venus
Flytrap)
For
most people the Venus flytrap is the most known of all carnivorous
plants. Even though nowadays propagated by millions through in vitro
culture and easily available for low cost in garden centers, in the
wild this species is growing in a very limited area along the coast of
the US States of North and South Carolina. Habitat
destruction by
pine tree plantations and draining for residential construction, but
also poaching, leads to the fact that the Venus Flytrap is today a very
endangered species.
The Venus flytrap has a unique mechanism
of traps which is only known to another aquatic
carnivorous plant
species named Aldrovanda.
The stimulation of the trigger hair by the prey on the inside of the
trap initiates the fast closing of the traps. This way of catching prey
remains the most spectacular among carnivorous plants.
Venus
flytrap in the Green Swamp Preserve, North Carolina
The
plants occur in wet pine savannas in either pure sandy soil or sandy
soil
with an organic layer on the surface. Due to bad draining the soils are
normally continuously moist. But the plants withstand also short
periods of flooding or temporary dry conditions. Frequent fires are
necessary to burn the surrounding grass and bush vegetation to
provide the plants with enough light to encourage exhuberant growth.
Plants with reddish coloration of the traps, Holly Shelter Swamp, North
Carolina
In
late autumn the leaves of the plants turn black and die as the plants
survives the winter months with a rhizome underneath the soil surface.
In early spring the plants begin again to form new leaves with traps.
Mid of April the Venus flytrap is forming the first flower scapes, that
can reach up to 30 cm. In August the plants are forming numerous black
seed, with which the plants can be easily propagated.
|