Meat-eating Plants
The Venus Flytrap is a carnivorous plant that feeds on insects.Like other plants,the Venus Flytrap gets its nutrients from gases found in the air and nutrients from the soil,but it gets the most nutrients by consuming insects.Though there are many carnivorous plants all over the world,the Venus Flytrap is only found in South and North Carolina.And due to its carnivorous nature,this plants has been an object of fascination for years.This Venus Flytraps of today are an endangered plant species and are mostly grown in greenhouse.
This plant has short,rough hairs on either side of its snapping "jaws"known as trigger hairs or sensitive hairs.These hairs serve as an alarm system for the Venus Flytrap.When the hairs on the plant are bent,the plant shuts its jaws in the time span of less than a second.The jaws are not shut tight at the first initial snapping.This is so that small insects can escape because the Venus Flytrap does not consider very small insects sufficient nutrition.The interesting fact about the Venus Flytrap is that if what is trapped inside its jaws is not food but small stones,nuts or something else,it will actually "spit out" the item after twelve hours.
The cilia,which are finger-like projection found around the jaws of the Venus Flytrap,is used to keep the larger insects inside,preventing them from escaping.Its shut jaws keep out the bacteria and keep the digestive fluids inside.
The Venus Flytrap uses digestive juices not unlike the acidic secretions in our stomach to consume the insect.The secretion is strong enough to dissolve the soft inner parts of the insect but it is not enough to break down the exoskeleton(the tough outer layer of the insect).Once the Venus Flytrap has completely digested the inner parts of the insect,it will open its jaws and throw out the leftover parts of the insects' body.The leftover either get blown away by the wind or are washed away by the rain.The time it takes for the jaws to reopen and throw away the leftover exoskeleton depends on the temperature ,the size of the insect,the age of the trap as well as the number of times it has gone through this process.
People still wonder how the Venus Flytrap shuts its jaws so quickly.Scientists have theorised that it is caused by a fluid pressure that is activated by an electrical current.
The Venus Flytrap is relatively easy to grow as you only need wet roots,high humidity,full sunlight,and poor,acidic soil.If you were to purchase it for growth,it will come in the shape of a bulb.You need to plant the bulb root side down so that the plant can grow properly.The plant can grow even better if you continuously plant it in new soil every few years.
