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shade. Each half of the blade has three very sensitive hairs. 
When one or more of these hairs, on either side of the blade, is 
touched by an insect or other object a stimulus is transmitted to 
the midrib, the blades fold quickly together, and the teeth interlock 
as when one folds his hands. By this mechanism insects are con- 
stantly entrapped. The surface glands then secrete a fluid with 
properties similar to those of the gastric and pancreatic juices of 
the digestive system of mammals, and the digested protein material 
Fic. 8. Venus’s ae (Dionaca muscipuia) in bloom, in the conserva- 
ories, Brooklyn Botanic Garden. 
is then absorbed by the leaf, serving as animal diet for the plant. 
In a similar way Dionaea will digest and absorb small bits of lean 
meat. Experiment shows that this animal diet is not necessary for 
the plant. 
Dionaea was first described by the American botanist, Ellis, in 
a communication sent to Linnaeus in 1768. Linnaeus declared it 
a wonder of nature (miraculum naturae), but did not recognize it 
