VENUS FLY TRAP 
Dionaea muscipula Ellis 
Venus flytrap is one of the most interesting and remarkable plants 
in the United States. The restricted region on the Atlantic coast in 
which it grows has been visited by many scientists bent upon form- 
ing a personal acquaintance with the plant in its native haunts. The 
white flower is inconspicuous. It is the leaves, which form a clus- 
ter at the base of the flower stems, that are so unusual. The leaves 
ate produced at the base of the flower stalk, and consist of a flat 
stalk and a blade composed of two sides, like the leaves of a book. 
These ate hinged to the midrib, and fringed on the outer edges 
with tiny spikes. On their concave faces, near the center, three or 
more tiny hair triggers are found. When these are touched, even 
lightly, the hinges close, and the insect visitor is clasped between 
the folded blades, while the spikes interlace firmly. No struggling 
insect can escape; it is so tightly held that the outline of its body 
can be seen through the leaf tissue. The leaf secretes a digestive 
substance, through whose agency the soft parts of the insect are 
absorbed by the cells. When this digestion is complete the leaf opens 
and teleases the hard indigestible parts. Charles Darwin tells us that 
this is “the most wonderful plant in the world.” 
Venus flyttap has a nartow range, occurring only on the coast of 
North and South Carolina, especially in the vicinity of Wilmington, 
North Carolina. 
The sketch was made froma specimen grown in the greenhouses 
of the Department of Agricultute, in Washington, District of 
Columbia. 
PLATE 219 
