VENUS FLYTRAP 



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 

 are 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 are 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 releases the hard indigestible parts. Charles Darwin tells us that 

 this is "the most wonderful plant in the world." 



Venus flytrap has a narrow range, occurring only on the coast of 

 North and South Carolina, especially in the vicinity of Wilmington, 

 North Carolina. 



The sketch was made from a specimen grown in the greenhouses 

 of the Department of Agriculture, in Washington, District of 

 Columbia. 



PLATE 2.I9 



