Venus Flytrap
Venus Flytrap
Carnivorous Plant
A carnivorous plant from the boggy Carolinas whose hinged leaves snap shut in a fraction of a second to catch insects.
💡 Fun Facts
- Its leaves snap shut in about a tenth of a second to catch insects — one of the fastest moves in the whole plant world!
- It eats bugs because it lives in poor, boggy soil that doesn't have enough food in it.
- A trap only shuts if an insect touches two of its tiny trigger hairs, so it doesn't waste energy snapping at raindrops.
📅 Through the Year
- Flowering:May to June
- Dormant:November to February
Name Story
Dionaea muscipula
means “Venus’s mousetrap”
What does its name mean?
- Dionaea — of VenusGreek Dione, mother of the goddess Venus
- muscipula — mousetrapLatin mus ‘mouse’ + capere ‘to catch’
The name literally says ‘mousetrap’ — but here’s the joke: this snapping plant is far too small to catch a mouse. It really traps tiny insects, so it’s named for the clever way it shuts, not for what it eats.