venus fly trap

The Venus Flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal prey (mostly insects and arachnids). The trapping structure is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves. The plant's common name refers to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, whereas the genus name refers to Dione.The Venus Flytrap is a small herb, forming a rosette of four to seven leaves, which arise from a short subterranean stem that is actually a bulb-like rhizome. Each leaf reaches a maximum size of about three to ten centimeters, depending on the time of year;[2] longer leaves with robust traps are usually formed after flowering. Flytraps that have more than 7 leaves are colonies formed by rosettes that have divided beneath the ground.
The leaf blade is divided into two regions: a flat, heart shaped photosynthetic capable petiVenus Flytraps are very popular as cultivated plants, although they have a large reputation for being difficult to grow. This reputation is almost exclusively due to inappropriate treatment of the plants by retailers and their consequent ill-health on purchase. However, Venus Flytraps are safely grown in pots under conditions that mimic those in their natural habitat.ole, and a pair of terminal lobes hinged at the midrib, forming the trap which is the true leaf. The upper surface of these lobes contains red anthocyanin pigments and its edges secrete mucilage. The lobes exhibit rapid plant movements, snapping shut when stimulated by prey. The trapping mechanism is tripped when prey items stumble against one of the three hair-like trichomes that are found on the upper surface of each of the lobes. The trapping mechanism is so specialized that it can distinguish between living prey and non-prey stimuli such as falling raindrops