PLEASE FOLLOW ALL REQUIREMENTS!!! OTHERWISE YOUR LOG WILL BE
DELETED!!! NO EXCEPTIONS!!!
The three main nutrients plants need are nitrogen, phosphorous
and potassium. The Venus Flytrap is found in nitrogen-poor
environments, such as bogs, marshes or swamps. Although it has been
successfully transplanted and grown in many locales around the
world, it is found natively only in North and South Carolina in the
United States, specifically within a 100 mile radius of Wilmington,
North Carolina. Most early scientists believed the plant to be a
myth until there was physical proof.
The mineral soil, found in this area, is nutritionally poor and
the plant's roots are used to the very low nitrogen environment.
This is the reason that the plant relies on such elaborate traps:
insect prey, provide the nitrogen for protein formation that the
soil cannot.
The Venus Flytrap is a small herb, forming a rosette of four to
seven leaves, which arise from a short subterranean stem that is
actually a bulb-like rhizome. Each leaf reaches a maximum size of
about three to seven centimeters, depending on the time of year;
longer leaves with robust traps are generally formed after
flowering. The leaf blade is divided into two regions: a flat,
heart shaped photosynthetic capable petiole, and a pair of terminal
lobes hinged at the midrib, forming the trap which is actually the
true leaf. The upper surface of these lobes contains red
anthocyanin pigments and its edges secrete mucilage. The reddish
color of the lobe can be affected by the pH of the soil. If the
soil can not keep its acidity, because of alkaline influences
introduced to the soil by ornamental rocks or the water itself, the
red colored trap plants may loose their nice reddish color. The
soil itself is not acidic but actually highly alkaline. The high
acidic pH is a result of acidic water, nearby plants, such as moss,
and other factors which dominate the pH of the environment. This in
turn lowers the pH of the soil.
The lobes, of the Venus fly trap, exhibit rapid plant movements,
snapping shut when stimulated by prey. The trapping mechanism is
tripped when prey items stumble against one of the three hair-like
trichomes that are found on the upper surface of each of the lobes.
The trapping mechanism is so specialized that it can distinguish
between living prey and non-prey stimuli such as falling raindrops;
two trigger hairs must be touched in succession or one hair touched
twice, whereupon the lobes of the trap will snap shut in about 0.1
seconds. The edges of the lobes are fringed by stiff hair-like
protrusions or cilia, which mesh together and prevent large prey
items from escaping. Speed of closing can vary depending on 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. About 10 days are required
for digestion, after which the leaf reopens. The trap dies after
capturing three or four insects.
PLEASE!!! The leaf only closes a couple times before it dies
so DO NOT try to make it close. Please don't take any plants, seeds
or even any part of the plants. It is illegal and the penalty is
$2000 fine and six months in jail for EACH PLANT OR EACH SEED. So
it's not worth it. You can buy them for less than $5.
In addition to the Venus flytraps there are several other
carnivorous plants on this trail, such as sundews and pitcher
plants. The best time to view the plants, are between April and
October. Between April through July come to see the very unusual
flowers of the North American pitcher plants.
Please complete one of the following requirements for
logging:
1. Send me an email a description of the soil at the posted
coordinates.
Or 2. Take a picture of you with the carnivorous plants in the
background.