Venus Flytrap

The Venus flytrap is a small carnivorous plant native to a very limited area of subtropical wetlands along the coast of North and South Carolina in the United States, famous for its hinged, trap-like leaves lined with trigger hairs that snap shut within a fraction of a second when an insect brushes against them twice in quick succession. Once closed, the trap seals tightly and the plant secretes digestive enzymes to break down and absorb nutrients from its prey, mainly ants, spiders and other small invertebrates, an adaptation that lets it thrive in nutrient-poor, boggy soils where few other plants can obtain enough nitrogen. Each trap can only close and reopen a limited number of times before it dies, and the plant relies on photosynthesis rather than trapped prey for most of its energy. The Venus flytrap has become popular worldwide as a novelty houseplant, but its extremely small wild range has left it vulnerable to habitat loss and illegal poaching, and it is considered vulnerable in the wild.