118-552: The Venus flytrap ( Dionaea muscipula ) is a carnivorous plant native to the temperate and subtropical wetlands of North Carolina and South Carolina , on the East Coast of the United States . Although various modern hybrids have been created in cultivation , D. muscipula is the only species of the monotypic genus Dionaea . It is closely related to the waterwheel plant ( Aldrovanda vesiculosa ) and
236-565: A common ancestor of the two genera. A 2009 study presented evidence for the evolution of snap traps of Dionaea and Aldrovanda from a flypaper trap like Drosera regia , based on molecular data . The molecular and physiological data imply that Dionaea and Aldrovanda snap traps evolved from the flypaper traps of a common ancestor with Drosera . Pre-adaptations to the evolution of snap traps were identified in several species of Drosera , such as rapid leaf and tentacle movement. The model proposes that plant carnivory by snap trap evolved from
354-432: A "mouse trap", "bear trap" or "man trap", based on their shape and rapid movement. However, the term snap trap is preferred as other designations are misleading, particularly with respect to the intended prey. Aldrovanda is aquatic and specialized in catching small invertebrates; Dionaea is terrestrial and catches a variety of arthropods, including spiders. The traps are very similar, with leaves whose terminal section
472-419: A common ancestor who also had pitfall trap morphology, carnivorous pitchers are an example of convergent evolution . A passive trap, pitfall traps attract prey with nectar bribes secreted by the peristome and bright flower-like anthocyanin patterning within the pitcher. The linings of most pitcher plants are covered in a loose coating of waxy flakes which are slippery for insects, causing them to fall into
590-595: A cost-benefit model for botanical carnivory. Cost-benefit models are used under the assumption that there is a set amount of potential energy available to an organism, which leads to trade-offs wherein energy is allocated to certain functions to maximize competitive ability and fitness. For carnivory, the trait could only evolve if the increase in nutrients from capturing prey exceeded the cost of investment in carnivorous adaptations. Pitfall traps are derived from rolled leaves, which evolved several independent times through convergent evolution. The vascular tissues of Sarracenia
708-568: A determination that the plant was a "Potential candidate without sufficient data on vulnerability". The IUCN Red List classifies the species as "vulnerable". The State of North Carolina lists Dionaea muscipula as a species of "Special Concern–Vulnerable". The species is protected under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning international trade (including in parts and derivatives)
826-482: A dormant period. Dionaea muscipula occurs naturally only along the coastal plain of North and South Carolina in the U.S., with all known current sites within 90 km (56 mi) of Wilmington, North Carolina . A 1958 survey of herbaria specimens and old documents found 259 sites where the historical record documented the presence of D. muscipula , within 21 counties in North and South Carolina. As of 2019, it
944-429: A few seconds. If a second touch occurs during that time frame, the flytrap closes. After closing, the flytrap counts additional stimulations of the trigger hairs, to five total, to start the production of digesting enzymes. If the prey is unable to escape, it will continue to stimulate the inner surface of the lobes, and this causes a further growth response that forces the edges of the lobes together, eventually sealing
1062-538: A flower on top of a long stem, about 6 inches (15 cm) long. The flower is pollinated from various flying insects such as sweat bees , longhorn beetles and checkered beetles . The Venus flytrap is found in nitrogen - and phosphorus-poor environments, such as bogs , wet savannahs, and canebrakes . Small in stature and slow-growing, the Venus flytrap tolerates fire well and depends on periodic burning to suppress its competition. Fire suppression threatens its future in
1180-401: A hinged door. In aquatic species, the door has a pair of long trigger hairs. Aquatic invertebrates such as Daphnia touch these hairs and deform the door by lever action, releasing the vacuum. The invertebrate is sucked into the bladder, where it is digested. Many species of Utricularia (such as U. sandersonii ) are terrestrial , growing in waterlogged soil, and their trapping mechanism
1298-623: A legal cultivation industry has formed, growing tens of thousands of flytraps in commercial greenhouses for sale as household plants. Yet in 2016, the New York Times reported that demand for wild plants still exists, which "has led to a 'Venus flytrap crime ring. ' " In 2014, the state of North Carolina made Venus flytrap poaching a felony . Since then, several poachers have been charged, with one man receiving 17 months in prison for poaching 970 Venus flytraps, and another man charged with 73 felony counts in 2019. Poachers may do greater harm to
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#17327911387091416-547: A minute or so. Sundews are extremely cosmopolitan and are found on all the continents except the Antarctic mainland. They are most diverse in Australia , the home to the large subgroup of pygmy sundews such as D. pygmaea and to a number of tuberous sundews such as D. peltata , which form tubers that aestivate during the dry summer months. These species are so dependent on insect sources of nitrogen that they generally lack
1534-686: A plant must first exhibit an adaptation of some trait specifically for the attraction, capture, or digestion of prey. Only one trait needs to have evolved that fits this adaptive requirement, as many current carnivorous plant genera lack some of the above-mentioned attributes. The second requirement is the ability to absorb nutrients from dead prey and gain a fitness advantage from the integration of these derived nutrients (mostly amino acids and ammonium ions) either through increased growth or pollen and/or seed production. However, plants that may opportunistically utilise nutrients from dead animals without specifically seeking and capturing fauna are excluded from
1652-513: A region prone to hurricanes, making storm surges and rising sea levels a long-term threat. In 2005, the Venus flytrap was designated as the state carnivorous plant of North Carolina. Venus flytrap extract is available on the market as an herbal remedy , sometimes as the prime ingredient of a patent medicine named "Carnivora". According to the American Cancer Society , these products are promoted in alternative medicine as
1770-422: A result, there is no fossil evidence of the steps that might link Dionaea and Aldrovanda , or either genus with their common ancestor, Drosera . Nevertheless, it is possible to infer an evolutionary history based on phylogenetic studies of both genera. Researchers have proposed a series of steps that would ultimately result in the complex snap-trap mechanism: Phylogenetic studies using molecular characters place
1888-463: A shady overstory from developing. It can be found living alongside herbaceous plants, grasses, sphagnum, and fire-dependent Arundinaria bamboos. Regular fire disturbance is an important part of its habitat, required every 3–5 years in most places for D. muscipula to thrive. After fire, D. muscipula seeds germinate well in ash and sandy soil, with seedlings growing well in the open post-fire conditions. The seeds germinate immediately without
2006-407: A signaling molecule for the activation of defense mechanisms, such as the production of hydrolases, which can destroy chitin and other molecular components of insect and microbial pests. In the Venus flytrap, this same molecule has been found to be responsible for the activation of the plant's digestive glands. A few hours after the capture of prey, another set of genes is activated inside the glands,
2124-471: A solution to assimilate released nutrients. Saccharides are often found in plants that have adhesive traps or plants that use viscous secretion to retain captured prey. The digestion fluid is often nutrient poor and has ions K , Na , Ca and Mg (for species in the Nepenthes genera for example), along with numerous proteins which vary across genera. Peroxidases are also involved for some species. The body of
2242-459: A sticky trap instead of a snap trap) the reason for this evolutionary branching becomes clear. Drosera consume smaller, aerial insects, whereas Dionaea consume larger terrestrial bugs. Dionaea are able to extract more nutrients from these larger bugs. This gives Dionaea an evolutionary advantage over their ancestral sticky trap form. The Venus flytrap is one of a very small group of plants capable of rapid movement , such as Mimosa pudica ,
2360-744: A trap, and both of these can be prevented by wax, gravity and narrow tubes. However, a flooded trap can be swum out of, so in Utricularia , a one-way lid may have developed to form the door of a proto-bladder. Later, this may have become active by the evolution of a partial vacuum inside the bladder, tripped by prey brushing against trigger hairs on the door of the bladder. The active glue traps use rapid plant movements to trap their prey. Rapid plant movement can result from actual growth, or from rapid changes in cell turgor , which allow cells to expand or contract by quickly altering their water content. Slow-moving flypapers like Pinguicula exploit growth, while
2478-557: A treatment for a variety of human ailments including HIV , Crohn's disease and skin cancer , even though available scientific evidence does not support these health claims. Carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans , typically insects and other arthropods , and occasionally small mammals and birds . They still generate all of their energy from photosynthesis . They have adapted to grow in waterlogged sunny places where
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#17327911387092596-450: A white flower. To this surprising plant I have given the name of Fly trap Sensitive. This was the first detailed recorded notice of the plant by Europeans. The description was before John Ellis ' letter to The London Magazine on 1 September 1768, and his letter to Carl Linnaeus on 23 September 1768, in which he described the plant and proposed its English name Venus's Flytrap and scientific name Dionaea muscipula . The Venus flytrap
2714-655: A wide consensus that Darwin was correct, with studies showing that carnivory evolved at least six times in the angiosperms, and that trap designs such as pitcher traps and flypaper traps are analogous rather than homologous. Researchers using molecular data have concluded that carnivory evolved independently in the Poales ( Brocchinia and Catopsis in the Bromeliaceae ), the Caryophyllales ( Droseraceae , Nepenthaceae , Drosophyllaceae , Dioncophyllaceae ),
2832-462: Is a case in point. The keel along the front of the trap contains a mixture of leftward- and rightward-facing vascular bundles , as would be predicted from the fusion of the edges of an adaxial (stem-facing) leaf surface. Flypapers also show a simple evolutionary gradient from sticky, non-carnivorous leaves, through passive flypapers to active forms. Molecular data show the Dionaea – Aldrovanda clade
2950-419: Is a case of thigmonasty (undirected movement in response to touch). Further stimulation of the lobe's internal surfaces by the struggling insects causes the lobes to close even tighter ( thigmotropism ), sealing the lobes hermetically and forming a stomach in which digestion occurs over a period of one to two weeks. Once this process is triggered, it cannot be reversed and requires more stimulation to trigger
3068-416: Is a common adaptation in habitats with abundant sunlight and water but scarce nutrients. Carnivory has evolved independently six times in the angiosperms based on extant species, with likely many more carnivorous plant lineages now extinct. The "snap trap" mechanism characteristic of Dionaea is shared with only one other carnivorous plant genus, Aldrovanda . For most of the 20th century, this relationship
3186-500: Is a major threat to the species. The human population of the coastal Carolinas is rapidly expanding. For example, Brunswick County, North Carolina, which has the largest number of Venus flytrap populations, has seen a 27% increase in its human population from 2010 to 2018. As the population grows, residential and commercial development and road building directly eliminate flytrap habitat, while site preparation that entails ditching and draining can dry out soil in surrounding areas, destroying
3304-406: Is a shortage of nutrients, sufficient light and water, the capture and digestion of prey has the greatest impact on photosynthetic gains, thus favoring the evolution of plant adaptations which allowed for more effective, efficient carnivory. Due to the required energy and resource allocations for carnivorous adaptations (e.g. the production of lures, digestive enzymes, modified leaf structures, and
3422-436: Is a small plant whose structure can be described as a rosette of four to seven leaves, which arise from a short subterranean stem that is actually a bulb-like object. Each stem reaches a maximum size of about three to ten centimeters, depending on the time of year; longer leaves with robust traps are usually formed after flowering. Flytraps that have more than seven leaves are colonies formed by rosettes that have divided beneath
3540-411: Is closely related to Drosera , and evolved from active flypaper traps into snap traps. It has been suggested that all trap types are modifications of a similar basic structure: the hairy leaf. Hairy (or more specifically, stalked-glandular) leaves can catch and retain drops of rainwater, especially if shield-shaped or peltate , thus promoting bacteria growth. Insects land on the leaf, become mired by
3658-438: Is contentious. Two genera of liverwort, Colura and Pleurozia , have sac-shaped leaves that trap and kill ciliates and may digest them. A species of pitcher plant, Nepenthes ampullaria , has evolved away from being a carnivore. Rather than catching animals, it catches falling leaves in its pitchers. Specialized multicellular secretion glands produce digestive fluid that smother, kill, and digest prey as well as make
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3776-483: Is derived from mus ("mouse") and decipula ("trap"), while the homonym word muscipula ("flytrap") is derived from musca ("fly") and decipula . Historically, the plant was also known by the slang term "tipitiwitchet" or "tippity twitchet", possibly an oblique reference to the plant's resemblance to human female genitalia. The term is similar to the term tippet-de-witchet which derives from tippet and witchet (archaic term for vagina ). In contrast,
3894-497: Is divided into two lobes, hinged along the midrib. Trigger hairs (three on each lobe in Dionaea muscipula , many more in the case of Aldrovanda ) inside the trap lobes are sensitive to touch. When a trigger hair is bent, stretch-gated ion channels in the membranes of cells at the base of the trigger hair open, generating an action potential that propagates to cells in the midrib. These cells respond by pumping out ions, which may either cause water to follow by osmosis (collapsing
4012-479: Is easy to enter, and whose exit is either difficult to find or obstructed by inward-pointing bristles. Lobster pots are the trapping mechanism in Genlisea , the corkscrew plants. These plants appear to specialise in aquatic protozoa . A Y -shaped modified leaf allows prey to enter but not exit. Inward-pointing hairs force the prey to move in a particular direction. Prey entering the spiral entrance that coils around
4130-543: Is evidence that some clades of flypaper traps have evolved from morphologically more complex traps such as pitchers. In the genus Pinguicula , the mucilage glands are quite short ( sessile ), and the leaf, while shiny (giving the genus its common name of ' butterwort '), does not appear carnivorous. However, this belies the fact that the leaf is an extremely effective trap of small flying insects (such as fungus gnats ), and its surface responds to prey by relatively rapid growth. This thigmotropic growth may involve rolling of
4248-812: Is obscured by the paucity of their fossil record . Very few fossils have been found, and then usually only as seed or pollen . Carnivorous plants are generally herbs, and their traps are produced by primary growth . They generally do not form readily fossilisable structures such as thick bark or wood. Researchers are increasingly using genome sequencing technology to examine the development of carnivorous species and relationships between them. Genetic evidence suggests that carnivory developed by co-opting and repurposing existing genes which had established functions in flowering plants, rather than by "hijacking" genes from other types of organisms. Most carnivorous plants live in habitats with high light, waterlogged soils, and extremely low soil nitrogen and phosphorus, producing
4366-491: Is particularly pronounced (both secrete nectar ) and provides a thorny overhang to the opening, preventing trapped insects from climbing out. The final carnivore with a pitfall-like trap is the bromeliad Brocchinia reducta . Like most relatives of the pineapple , the tightly packed, waxy leaf bases of the strap-like leaves of this species form an urn . In most bromeliads, water collects readily in this urn and may provide habitats for frogs , insects and, more useful for
4484-467: Is regulated by the CITES permitting system. NatureServe classified it as "Imperiled" (G2) in a 2018 review. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not indicated a timeline to conclude its current review of Dionaea muscipula . The Endangered Species Act specifies a two-year timeline for a species review. However, the species listing process takes 12.1 years on average. The Venus flytrap is only found in
4602-506: Is represented by more than a dozen genera . This classification includes at least 583 species that attract, trap, and kill prey , absorbing the resulting available nutrients. Venus flytraps ( Dionaea muscipula ), pitcher plants , and bladderworts ( Utricularia spp. ) can be seen as exemplars of key traits genetically associated with carnivory: trap leaf development, prey digestion, and nutrient absorption. The number of known species has increased by approximately 3 species per year since
4720-579: Is the most cost-effective way to propagate them on a large scale. Regardless of the propagation method used, the plants will live for 20 to 30 years if cultivated in the right conditions. Venus flytraps are by far the most commonly recognized and cultivated carnivorous plant, and they are frequently sold as houseplants. Various cultivars (cultivated varieties) have come into the market through tissue culture of selected genetic mutations, and these plants are raised in large quantities for commercial markets. The cultivars 'Akai Ryu' and 'South West Giant' have gained
4838-410: Is triggered in a slightly different manner. Bladderworts lack roots , but terrestrial species have anchoring stems that resemble roots. Temperate aquatic bladderworts generally die back to a resting turion during the winter months, and U. macrorhiza appears to regulate the number of bladders it bears in response to the prevailing nutrient content of its habitat. A lobster-pot trap is a chamber that
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4956-408: Is tripped when prey contacts one of the three hair-like trichomes that are found on the upper surface of each of the lobes. The mechanism is so highly specialized that it can distinguish between living prey and non-prey stimuli, such as falling raindrops; two trigger hairs must be touched in succession within 20 seconds of each other or one hair touched twice in rapid succession, whereupon the lobes of
5074-705: The Oxalidales ( Cephalotus ), the Ericales ( Sarraceniaceae and Roridulaceae ), and twice in the Lamiales ( Lentibulariaceae and independently in Byblidaceae ). The oldest evolution of an existing carnivory lineage has been dated to 85.6 million years ago, with the most recent being Brocchinia reducta in the Bromeliaceae estimated at only 1.9 mya. The evolution of carnivorous plants
5192-607: The Royal Horticultural Society 's Award of Garden Merit . Although widely cultivated for sale as a houseplant, D. muscipula has suffered a significant decline in its population in the wild. The population in its native range is estimated to have decreased 93% since 1979. The species is under Endangered Species Act review by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service . The current review commenced in 2018, after an initial "90-day" review found that action may be warranted. A previous review in 1993 resulted in
5310-541: The cosmopolitan sundews ( Drosera ), all of which belong to the family Droseraceae . Dionaea catches its prey—chiefly insects and arachnids —with a "jaw"-like clamping structure, which is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves; when an insect makes contact with the open leaves, vibrations from the prey's movements ultimately trigger the "jaws" to shut via tiny hairs (called "trigger hairs" or "sensitive hairs") on their inner surfaces. Additionally, when an insect or spider touches one of these hairs,
5428-431: The midrib between them. It is hypothesized that there is a threshold of ion buildup for the Venus flytrap to react to stimulation. The acid growth theory states that individual cells in the outer layers of the lobes and midrib rapidly move H ( hydrogen ions ) into their cell walls, lowering the pH and loosening the extracellular components, which allows them to swell rapidly by osmosis , thus elongating and changing
5546-430: The monkey cups or tropical pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes . In the hundred or so species of this genus, the pitcher is borne at the end of a tendril , which grows as an extension to the midrib of the leaf. Most species catch insects, although the larger ones, such as Nepenthes rajah , also occasionally take small mammals and reptiles . Nepenthes bicalcarata possesses two sharp thorns that project from
5664-460: The naphthoquinone plumbagin that couples to different NADH -dependent diaphorases to produce superoxide and hydrogen peroxide upon autoxidation . Such oxidative modification could rupture animal cell membranes. Plumbagin is known to induce apoptosis , associated with the regulation of the Bcl-2 family of proteins. When the Dionaea extracts were pre-incubated with diaphorases and NADH in
5782-499: The soil is thin or poor in nutrients , especially nitrogen , such as acidic bogs . They can be found on all continents except Antarctica , as well as many Pacific islands. In 1875, Charles Darwin published Insectivorous Plants , the first treatise to recognize the significance of carnivory in plants, describing years of painstaking research. True carnivory is believed to have evolved independently at least 12 times in five different orders of flowering plants, and
5900-442: The surface tension of the water, and suffocate . Bacteria jumpstart decay , releasing from the corpse nutrients that the plant can absorb through its leaves. This foliar feeding can be observed in most non-carnivorous plants. Plants that were better at retaining insects or water therefore had a selective advantage. Rainwater can be retained by cupping the leaf, and pitfall traps may have evolved simply by selection pressure for
6018-437: The telegraph plant , starfruit , sundews and bladderworts . The mechanism by which the trap snaps shut involves a complex interaction between elasticity , turgor and growth. The trap only shuts when there have been two stimulations of the trigger hairs; this is to avoid inadvertent triggering of the mechanism by dust and other wind-borne debris. In the open, untripped state, the lobes are convex (bent outwards), but in
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#17327911387096136-767: The Corallines . He was awarded the Copley Medal in 1767. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1774. His A Natural History of Many Uncommon and Curious Zoophytes , written with Daniel Solander , was published posthumously in 1776. Ellis was appointed Royal Agent for British West Florida in 1764, and for British Dominica in 1770. He exported many seeds and native plants from North America to England. He corresponded with many botanists , including Carl Linnaeus . A royal botanist, William Young imported living plants of
6254-650: The English botanist John Ellis , who gave the plant its scientific name in 1768, wrote that the plant name tippitywichit was an indigenous word from either Cherokee or Catawba . The plant name according to the Handbook of American Indians derives from the Renape word titipiwitshik ("they (leaves) which wind around (or involve)"). On 2 April 1759, the North Carolina colonial governor , Arthur Dobbs , penned
6372-599: The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, counted a total of 163,951 individual Venus flytraps in North Carolina and 4,876 in South Carolina, estimating a total of 302,000 individuals remaining in the wild in its native range. This represents a reduction of more than 93% from a 1979 estimate of approximately 4,500,000 individuals. A 1958 study found 259 confirmed extant or historic sites. As of 2016, there were 71 known sites where
6490-474: The Venus flytrap to England. They were then shown to Ellis. In 1769, he wrote a description of the plant discovery from North Carolina to send to the 'Father of Taxonomy', Carl Linnaeus . Ellis also gave it the scientific name of Dionaea muscipula . Later, his essay Directions for bringing over seeds and plants, from the East Indies (1770) included the first illustration of a Venus Flytrap plant. He
6608-439: The Venus flytrap uses such rapid turgor changes which make glue unnecessary. The stalked glands that once made glue became teeth and trigger hairs in species with active snap traps – an example of natural selection hijacking preexisting structures for new functions. John Ellis (naturalist) John Ellis FRS ( c. 1710 – 15 October 1776) aka Jean Ellis was a British linen merchant and naturalist . Ellis
6726-422: The Venus flytrap. A possible carnivore is the genus Roridula ; the plants in this genus produce sticky leaves with resin-tipped glands and look extremely similar to some of the larger sundews. However, they do not directly benefit from the insects they catch. Instead, they form a mutualistic symbiosis with species of assassin bug (genus Pameridea ), which eat the trapped insects. The plant benefits from
6844-412: The amount of humidity, light, size of prey, and general growing conditions. The speed with which traps close can be used as an indicator of a plant's general health. Venus flytraps are not as humidity-dependent as are some other carnivorous plants, such as Nepenthes , Cephalotus , most Heliamphora , and some Drosera . The Venus flytrap exhibits variations in petiole shape and length and whether
6962-477: The base of the operculum over the entrance to the pitcher. These likely serve to lure insects into a precarious position over the pitcher mouth, where they may lose their footing and fall into the fluid within. The pitfall trap has evolved independently in at least two other groups. The Albany pitcher plant , Cephalotus follicularis , is a small pitcher plant from Western Australia , with moccasin -like pitchers. The rim of its pitcher's opening (the peristome )
7080-436: The burnt zone propagate quickly in the ash and full sun conditions that occur after a fire disturbance. Because the mature plants and new seedlings are typically destroyed in the regular fires that are necessary to maintain their habitat, D. muscipula' s survival relies upon adequate seed production and dispersal from outside the burnt patches back into the burnt habitat, requiring a critical mass of populations, and exposing
7198-399: The capture of prey. For example, Triphyophyllum is a passive flypaper that secretes mucilage, but whose leaves do not grow or move in response to prey capture. Meanwhile, sundews are active flypaper traps whose leaves undergo rapid acid growth , which is an expansion of individual cells as opposed to cell division . The rapid acid growth allows the sundews' tentacles to bend, aiding in
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#17327911387097316-444: The carnivorous definition. Despite this, there are cases where plants appear carnivorous, in that they fulfill some of the above definition, but are not truly carnivorous. Some botanists argue that there is a spectrum of carnivory found in plants: from completely non-carnivorous plants like cabbages , to borderline carnivores, to unspecialised and simple traps, like Heliamphora , to extremely specialised and complex traps, like that of
7434-446: The carnivorous definition. The second requirement also differentiates carnivory from defensive plant characteristics that may kill or incapacitate insects without the advantage of nutrient absorption. Due to the observation that many currently classified carnivores lack digestive enzymes for breaking down nutrients and instead rely upon mutualistic and symbiotic relationships with bacteria, ants, or insects, this adaptation has been added to
7552-401: The cells in the midrib) or cause rapid acid growth . The mechanism is still debated, but in any case, changes in the shape of cells in the midrib allow the lobes, held under tension, to snap shut, flipping rapidly from convex to concave and interring the prey. This whole process takes less than a second. In the Venus flytrap, closure in response to raindrops and blown-in debris is prevented by
7670-407: The closed state, the lobes are concave (forming a cavity). It is the rapid flipping of this bistable state that closes the trap, but the mechanism by which this occurs is still poorly understood. When the trigger hairs are stimulated, an action potential (mostly involving calcium ions—see calcium in biology ) is generated, which propagates across the lobes and stimulates cells in the lobes and in
7788-418: The decreased rate of photosynthesis over total leaf area), some authors argue that carnivory is an evolutionary "last resort" when nitrogen and phosphorus are extremely limited in an ecosystem. Despite meager fossil evidence, much can be deduced from the structure of current traps and their ecological interactions. It is widely believed that carnivory evolved under extremely nutrient-poor conditions, leading to
7906-418: The ecological impetus to derive nitrogen from an alternate source. High-light environments allowed for the trade-off between photosynthetic leaves and photosynthetically inefficient, prey-capturing traps. To compensate for the photosynthetically inefficient material, the nutrients obtained through carnivory would need to increase photosynthesis by investing in more leaf mass (i.e. growth). Consequently, when there
8024-598: The emergence of carnivory in the ancestors of Dionaea muscipula to 85.6 million years ago, and the development of the snap-trap in the ancestors of Dionaea and its sister genus Aldrovanda to approximately 48 million years ago. Plants can be propagated by seed, taking around four to five years to reach maturity. More commonly, they are propagated by clonal division in spring or summer. Venus flytraps can also be propagated in vitro using plant tissue culture . Most Venus flytraps found for sale in nurseries garden centers have been produced using this method, as this
8142-682: The enzyme nitrate reductase , which most plants require to assimilate soil-borne nitrate into organic forms. Similar to Drosera is the Portuguese dewy pine, Drosophyllum , which differs from the sundews in being passive. Its leaves are incapable of rapid movement or growth. Unrelated, but similar in habit, are the Australian rainbow plants ( Byblis ). Drosophyllum is unusual in that it grows under near- desert conditions; almost all other carnivores are either bog plants or grow in moist tropical areas. Recent molecular data (particularly
8260-449: The expression of genes in the plant's leaves as they captured and digested prey was published in the journal, Genome Research . The gene activation observed in the leaves of the plants gives support to the hypothesis that the carnivorous mechanisms present in the flytrap are a specially adapted version of mechanisms used by non-carnivorous plants to defend against herbivorous insects. In many non-carnivorous plants, jasmonic acid serves as
8378-472: The first written description of the plant in a letter to English botanist Peter Collinson . In the letter he wrote: "We have a kind of Catch Fly Sensitive which closes upon anything that touches it. It grows in Latitude 34 but not in 35. I will try to save the seed here." A year later, Dobbs went into greater detail about the plant in a letter to Collinson dated Brunswick, 24 January 1760. The great wonder of
8496-403: The flypaper traps, driven by increasing prey size. Bigger prey provides greater nutritional value, but large insects can easily escape the sticky mucilage of flypaper traps; the evolution of snap traps would therefore prevent escape and kleptoparasitism (theft of prey captured by the plant before it can derive benefit from it), and would also permit a more complete digestion. In 2016, a study of
8614-416: The glands. One of these enzymes includes GH18 chitinase, which breaks down chitin-containing exoskeleton of trapped insects. Synthesis of this enzyme begins with at least five action potentials, which will stimulate transcription of chitinase. Oxidative protein modification is likely to be a pre-digestive mechanism used by Dionaea muscipula . Aqueous leaf extracts have been found to contain quinones such as
8732-414: The ground. The leaf blade is divided into two regions: a flat, heart-shaped photosynthesis -capable petiole , 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
8850-448: The leaf blade (to prevent rain from splashing the prey off the leaf surface) or dishing of the surface under the prey to form a shallow digestive pit. The sundew genus ( Drosera ) consists of over 100 species of active flypapers whose mucilage glands are borne at the end of long tentacles , which frequently grow fast enough in response to prey ( thigmotropism ) to aid the trapping process. The tentacles of D. burmanii can bend 180° in
8968-685: The leaf lies flat on the ground or extends up at an angle of about 40–60 degrees. The four major forms are: 'typica', the most common, with broad decumbent petioles; 'erecta', with leaves at a 45-degree angle; 'linearis', with narrow petioles and leaves at 45 degrees; and 'filiformis', with extremely narrow or linear petioles. Except for 'filiformis', all of these can be stages in leaf production of any plant depending on season (decumbent in summer versus short versus semi-erect in spring), length of photoperiod (long petioles in spring versus short in summer), and intensity of light (wide petioles in low light intensity versus narrow in brighter light). The plant also has
9086-399: The leaves having a simple memory: for the lobes to shut, two stimuli are required, 0.5 to 30 seconds apart. According to a recent study, calcium molecules move dynamically within the cells of the plant's leaves when a carnivorous plant touches live prey. Changing calcium levels make leaves move to catch prey, likely by producing more hormones related to defense. The snapping of the leaves
9204-438: The nectar bribe is laced with coniine , a toxic alkaloid also found in hemlock , which probably increases the efficiency of the traps by intoxicating prey. Most Heliamphora rely on bacterial digestion alone with the exception of a single species, Heliamphora tatei , which does produce digestive enzymes. The enzymes digest the proteins and nucleic acids in the prey, releasing amino acids and phosphate ions, which
9322-441: The net-like funnel found in most aquatic bladderworts. Whatever their origin, the helical shape of the lobster pot is an adaptation that displays as much trapping surface as possible in all directions when buried in moss . The traps of the bladderworts may have derived from pitchers that specialised in aquatic prey when flooded, like Sarracenia psittacina does today. Escaping prey in terrestrial pitchers have to climb or fly out of
9440-402: The next steps. Leaves can be reused three or four times before they become unresponsive to stimulation, depending on the growing conditions. Bladder traps are exclusive to the genus Utricularia , or bladderworts . The bladders (vesiculae) pump ions out of their interiors. Water follows by osmosis , generating a partial vacuum inside the bladder. The bladder has a small opening, sealed by
9558-637: The nutrients in the bugs' feces . By some definitions this would still constitute botanical carnivory. A number of species in the Martyniaceae (previously Pedaliaceae ), such as Ibicella lutea , have sticky leaves that trap insects. However, these plants have not been shown conclusively to be carnivorous. Likewise, the seeds of Shepherd's Purse , urns of Paepalanthus bromelioides , bracts of Passiflora foetida , and flower stalks and sepals of triggerplants ( Stylidium ) appear to trap and kill insects, but their classification as carnivores
9676-452: The opening underneath the balloon. Once inside, they tire themselves trying to escape from these false exits, until they eventually fall into the tube. Prey access is increased by the "fish tails", outgrowths of the operculum that give the plant its name. Some seedling Sarracenia species also have long, overhanging opercular outgrowths; Darlingtonia may therefore represent an example of neoteny . The second major group of pitcher plants are
9794-446: The pitcher. In the genus Sarracenia , the problem of pitcher overflow is solved by an operculum , which is essentially a flared leaflet that covers the opening of the rolled-leaf tube and protects it from rain. Possibly because of this improved waterproofing, Sarracenia species secrete enzymes such as proteases and phosphatases into the digestive fluid at the bottom of the pitcher. In at least one species, Sarracenia flava ,
9912-405: The pitcher. Once within the pitcher structure, digestive enzymes or mutualistic species break down the prey into an absorbable form for the plant. Water can become trapped within the pitcher, making a habitat for other flora and fauna. This type of 'water body' is called a phytotelma . The simplest pitcher plants are probably those of Heliamphora , the marsh pitcher plant . In this genus ,
10030-470: The plant absorbs. Darlingtonia californica , the cobra plant, possesses an adaptation also found in Sarracenia psittacina and, to a lesser extent, in Sarracenia minor : the operculum is balloon-like and almost seals the opening to the tube. This balloon-like chamber is pitted with areolae , chlorophyll -free patches through which light can penetrate. Insects, mostly ants, enter the chamber via
10148-579: The plant could be found in the wild. Of these 71 sites, only 20 were classified as having excellent or good long-term viability. Most carnivorous plants selectively feed on specific prey. This selection is due to the available prey and the type of trap used by the organism. With the Venus flytrap, prey is limited to beetles, spiders and other crawling arthropods. The Dionaea diet is 33% ants, 30% spiders, 10% beetles, and 10% grasshoppers, with fewer than 5% flying insects. Given that Dionaea evolved from an ancestral form of Drosera (carnivorous plants that use
10266-465: The plant is carnivorous. This may be related to a requirement for specific nutrients for flowering. The only two active snap traps—the Venus flytrap ( Dionaea muscipula ) and the waterwheel plant ( Aldrovanda vesiculosa )—had a common ancestor with the snap trap adaptation, which had evolved from an ancestral lineage that utilized flypaper traps. Their trapping mechanism has also been described as
10384-433: The plant will only begin digestion after five more stimuli are activated, ensuring that it has caught a live prey animal worthy of consumption. These hairs also possess a heat sensor. A forest fire, for example, causes them to snap shut, making the plant more resilient to periods of summer fires. Although widely cultivated for sale, the population of the Venus flytrap has been rapidly declining in its native range. As of 2017,
10502-472: The plant, diazotrophic (nitrogen-fixing) bacteria. In Brocchinia , the urn is a specialised insect trap, with a loose, waxy lining and a population of digestive bacteria. The flypaper trap utilises sticky mucilage or glue. The leaf of flypaper traps is studded with mucilage -secreting glands, which may be short (like those of the butterworts ), or long and mobile (like those of many sundews ). Flypapers have evolved independently at least five times. There
10620-468: The presence of serum albumin (SA), subsequent tryptic digestion of SA was facilitated. Since the secretory glands of Droseraceae contain proteases and possibly other degradative enzymes , it may be that the presence of oxygen-activating redox cofactors function as extracellular pre-digestive oxidants to render membrane-bound proteins of the prey ( insects ) more susceptible to proteolytic attacks. Digestion takes about ten days, after which
10738-561: The prey is decomposed by a cocktail of hydrolytic enzymes which are stored in sub-cellular compartments or synthesized over and over as needed. Proteins of digestive fluid include proteases, chitinases (partly destroy exoskeleton of insects), phosphatases, and nucleases. Charles Darwin spent 16 years growing carnivorous plants, experimenting with them in the greenhouse of his home in Kent , Down House . In his pioneering book Insectivorous Plants (1875) Darwin concluded that carnivory in plants
10856-488: The prey is reduced to a husk of chitin . The trap then reopens, and is ready for reuse. Carnivory in plants is a very specialized form of foliar feeding , and is an adaptation found in several plants that grow in nutrient-poor soil. Carnivorous traps were naturally selected to allow these organisms to compensate for the nutrient deficiencies of their harsh environments and compensate for the reduced photosynthetic benefit. Phylogenetic studies have shown that carnivory in plants
10974-531: The production of plumbagin ) indicate that the remaining flypaper , Triphyophyllum peltatum , a member of the Dioncophyllaceae , is closely related to Drosophyllum and forms part of a larger clade of carnivorous and non-carnivorous plants with the Droseraceae , Nepenthaceae , Ancistrocladaceae and Plumbaginaceae . This plant is usually encountered as a liana , but in its juvenile phase,
11092-412: The production of more deeply cupped leaves, followed by "zipping up" of the margins and subsequent loss of most of the hairs. Alternatively, insects can be retained by making the leaf stickier by the production of mucilage , leading to flypaper traps. The only traps that are unlikely to have descended from a hairy leaf or sepal are the carnivorous bromeliads ( Brocchinia and Catopsis ): These plants use
11210-501: The retention and digestion of prey. Characterised by an internal chamber, pitfall traps are thought to have evolved independently at least six times. This particular adaptation is found within the families Sarraceniaceae (Darlingtonia , Heliamphora , Sarracenia ), Nepenthaceae ( Nepenthes ), and Cephalotaceae ( Cephalotus ) . Within the family Bromeliaceae , pitcher morphology and carnivory evolved twice ( Brocchinia and Catopsis ). Because these families do not share
11328-509: The same set of genes that is active in the roots of other plants, allowing them to absorb nutrients. The use of similar biological pathways in the traps as non-carnivorous plants use for other purposes indicates that somewhere in its evolutionary history, the Venus flytrap repurposed these genes to facilitate carnivory. Carnivorous plants are generally herbaceous , and their traps the result of primary growth . They generally do not form readily fossilizable structures such as thick bark or wood. As
11446-418: The shape of the trap lobe. Alternatively, cells in the inner layers of the lobes and midrib may rapidly secrete other ions , allowing water to follow by osmosis, and the cells to collapse. Both of these mechanisms may play a role and have some experimental evidence to support them. Flytraps show an example of memory in plants ; the plant knows if one of its trigger hairs have been touched, and remembers this for
11564-450: The snap trap evolved from a fly-paper trap similar to that of Drosera . The holes in the meshwork allow small prey to escape, presumably because the benefit that would be obtained from them would be less than the cost of digesting them. If the prey is too small and escapes, the trap will usually reopen within 12 hours. If the prey moves around in the trap, it tightens and digestion begins more quickly. Speed of closing can vary depending on
11682-830: The soil is the reason it relies on such elaborate traps: insect prey provide the nitrogen for protein formation that the soil cannot. They tolerate mild winters, and require a period of winter dormancy to survive freezing temperatures and low photoperiods. It is a common misconception that Venus flytraps require dormancy if kept indoors under sufficient artificial light. However, most professional carnivorous plant growers recommend dormancy, and Venus fly traps grown without dormancy may require more light, water, and food to remain healthy. They are full sun plants, usually found only in areas with less than 10% canopy cover. The habitats where it thrives are typically either too nutrient-poor for many noncarnivorous plants to survive, or frequently disturbed by fires which regularly clear vegetation and prevent
11800-521: The species was under Endangered Species Act review by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service . The plant's common name (originally "Venus's flytrap") refers to Venus , the Roman goddess of love. The genus name, Dionaea ("daughter of Dione "), refers to the Greek goddess Aphrodite , while the species name, muscipula , is Latin for both "mousetrap" and "flytrap". The Latin word muscipula ("mousetrap")
11918-408: The success of any one population to metapopulation dynamics . These dynamics make small, isolated populations particularly vulnerable to extirpation, for if there are no mature plants adjacent to the fire zone, there is no source of seeds post-fire. Poaching has been another cause of population decline. Harvesting Venus flytraps on public land became illegal in North Carolina in 1958, and since then
12036-420: The sundew Drosera glanduligera combines features of both flypaper and snap traps; it has been termed a catapult-flypaper trap . Similarly, Nepenthes jamban is a combination of pitfall and flypaper traps because it has a sticky pitcher fluid. Most Sumatran nepenthes, like N. inermis , also have this method. For example, N. dubia and N. flava also use this method. To be defined as carnivorous,
12154-423: The trap hermetically and forming a "stomach" in which digestion occurs. Release of the digestive enzymes is controlled by the hormone jasmonic acid , the same hormone that triggers the release of toxins as an anti-herbivore defense mechanism in non-carnivorous plants. (See Evolution below) Once the digestive glands in the leaf lobes have been activated, digestion is catalysed by hydrolase enzymes secreted by
12272-411: The trap prepares to close, only fully enclosing the prey if a second hair is contacted within (approximately) twenty seconds of the first contact. Triggers may occur as quickly as 1 ⁄ 10 of a second from initial contact. The requirement of repeated, seemingly redundant triggering in this mechanism serves as a safeguard against energy loss and to avoid trapping objects with no nutritional value;
12390-403: The trap will snap shut, typically in about one-tenth of a second. The edges of the lobes are fringed by stiff hair-like protrusions or cilia , which mesh together and prevent large prey from escaping. These protrusions, and the trigger hairs (also known as sensitive hairs) are likely homologous with the tentacles found in this plant's close relatives, the sundews . Scientists have concluded that
12508-516: The traps are clearly derived from a simple rolled leaf whose margins have sealed together. These plants live in areas of high rainfall in South America such as Mount Roraima and consequently have a problem ensuring their pitchers do not overflow. To counteract this problem, natural selection has favoured the evolution of an overflow similar to that of a bathroom sink —a small gap in the zipped-up leaf margins allows excess water to flow out of
12626-549: The upper two arms of the Y are forced to move inexorably towards a stomach in the lower arm of the Y , where they are digested. Prey movement is also thought to be encouraged by water movement through the trap, produced in a similar way to the vacuum in bladder traps, and probably evolutionarily related to it. Outside of Genlisea , features reminiscent of lobster-pot traps can be seen in Sarracenia psittacina , Darlingtonia californica , and, some horticulturalists argue, Nepenthes aristolochioides . The trapping mechanism of
12744-435: The urn – a characteristic part of all bromeliads, not just the carnivorous ones – for a new purpose, and build on it by the production of wax and the other paraphernalia of carnivory. The lobster-pot traps of Genlisea are difficult to interpret. They may have developed from bifurcated pitchers that later specialised on ground-dwelling prey; or, perhaps, the prey-guiding protrusions of bladder traps became more substantial than
12862-471: The vegetable kingdom is a very curious unknown species of Sensitive. It is a dwarf plant. The leaves are like a narrow segment of a sphere, consisting of two parts, like the cap of a spring purse, the concave part outwards, each of which falls back with indented edges (like an iron spring fox-trap); upon anything touching the leaves, or falling between them, they instantly close like a spring trap, and confine any insect or anything that falls between them. It bears
12980-566: The viability of the species. Additionally, increased recreational use of natural areas in populated areas directly destroys the plants by crushing or uprooting them. Fire suppression is another threat to the Venus flytrap. In the absence of regular fires, shrubs and trees encroach, outcompeting the species and leading to local extirpations. D. muscipula requires fire every 3–5 years, and best thrives with annual brush fires. Although flytraps and their seeds are typically killed alongside their competition in fires, seeds from flytraps adjacent to
13098-486: The wild in a very particular set of conditions, requiring flat land with moist, acidic, nutrient-poor soils that receive full sun and burn frequently in forest fires, and is therefore sensitive to many types of disturbance. A 2011 review identified five categories of threats for the species: agriculture, road-building, biological resource use (poaching and lumber activities), natural systems modifications (drainage and fire suppression), and pollution (fertilizer). Habitat loss
13216-410: The wild populations than a simple count of individuals taken would indicate, as they may selectively harvest the largest plants at a site, which have more flowers and fruit and therefore generate more seeds than smaller plants. Additionally, the species is particularly vulnerable to catastrophic climate events. Most Venus flytrap sites are only 2–4 meters (6.5 –13 feet) above sea level and are located in
13334-547: The wild. It survives in wet sandy and peaty soils. Although it has been successfully transplanted and grown in many locales around the world, it is native only to the coastal bogs of North and South Carolina in the United States, specifically within a 100-kilometer (60 mi) radius of Wilmington, North Carolina . One such place is North Carolina's Green Swamp . There also appears to be a naturalized population of Venus flytraps in northern Florida as well as an introduced population in western Washington . The nutritional poverty of
13452-522: The year 2000. Additionally, over 300 protocarnivorous plant species in several genera show some but not all of these characteristics. A 2020 assessment has found that roughly one quarter are threatened with extinction from human actions. Plants are considered carnivorous if they have these five traits: Other traits may include the attraction and retention of prey. Five basic trapping mechanisms are found in carnivorous plants. These traps may be active or passive, depending on whether movement aids
13570-421: Was convergent , writing that carnivorous genera Utricularia and Nepenthes were not "at all related to the [carnivorous family] Droseraceae ". This remained a subject of debate for over a century. In 1960, Leon Croizat concluded that carnivory was monophyletic , and placed all the carnivorous plants together at the base of the angiosperms. Molecular studies over the past 30 years have led to
13688-573: Was considered extirpated in North Carolina in the inland counties of Moore, Robeson, and Lenoir, as well as the South Carolina coastal counties of Charleston and Georgetown. Remaining extant populations exist in North Carolina in Beaufort, Craven, Pamlico, Carteret, Jones, Onslow, Duplin, Pender, New Hanover, Brunswick, Columbus, Bladen, Sampson, Cumberland, and Hoke counties, and in South Carolina in Horry county. A large-scale survey in 2019, conducted by
13806-536: Was the first to have a published written description of the Venus flytrap and its botanical name. The standard author abbreviation J.Ellis is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name . Ellis specialised in the study of corals . He was elected a member of the Royal Society in 1754 and in the following year published An essay towards the Natural History of
13924-436: Was thought to be coincidental, more precisely an example of convergent evolution . Some phylogenetic studies even suggested that the closest living relatives of Aldrovanda were the sundews . It was not until 2002 that a molecular evolutionary study, by analyzing combined nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences, indicated that Dionaea and Aldrovanda were closely related and that the snap trap mechanism evolved only once in
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