In our newest Leaf display, The Enchanted Forest, you’ll uncover a variety of unique and fascinating plants found within the depths of nature. A fascinating plant you’ll encounter is nature’s not-so-scary Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). Discover more below about this intricate carnivorous species.

Basics: The Venus flytrap is composed of a rosette of four to seven leaves, which come from a short stem (around three to ten centimetres, depending on the time of year). With its short stem, this plant is relatively small, measuring around two to three inches across. They usually have green leaves with burgundy colouring inside.

Feed Me, Seymour: Despite this plant’s most common cultural reference to Audrey II, the flesh-eating Venus flytrap in the 1982 off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors, you are 100% safe from the ones inside The Leaf. Due to their small size, they primarily feed on insects such as beetles, spiders, and ants.

How they trap their insect prey is when they come in and trigger at least two of the hairs on their leaves, the plants will immediately close in on it.

Habitat: Dionaea muscipula is found in damp environments such as bogs and wet savannahs. In the wild, they grow in the wetlands of the United States, particularly in North Carolina, South Carolina, and along the East Coast.

Unfortunately, due to habitat loss, poaching, and fire suppression, they are a vulnerable species, according to the IUCN.

Fire-Proof Plant (Kind of): Although they grow in damp environments, the Venus flytrap tolerates fire relatively well due to its small size and slow growth. When it detects heat, it closes its leaves up to protect itself.

A Sunny Fun Fact: The Venus flytrap is related to the sundew plant (Drosera spp.), which you can also see at The Enchanted Forest. It’s a small plant that looks like it has little droplets of sugar on it. When an insect lands on it, it triggers a slow folding up around it, holding it in place.