Venus Flytrap

Dionaea muscipula (Droseraceae)

Native to the Southeast U.S. (North & South Carolina)

The Venus Flytrap is a small herb, forming a rosette of four to seven leaves, which arise from a short bulb-like rhizome.

Carnivorous plants, like Dionaea, are uniquely adapted to the nutrient-poor soil where they live. The plants trap and digest small insects to obtain the nutrients not present in the soil. The “trap” is a pair of terminal lobes of the leaf that are hinged at the midrib.

The plant's common name refers to Venus, the mythical Roman goddess of love and plants. Venus was the daughter of Dione, hence the genus Dionaea.

There are several Venus Flytraps in the bog.