seeds of Dionaea muscipula - Venus flytrap
Dionaea muscipula - seeds of Venus flytrap
Dioneae muscipula belongs to the family of the Droseraceae. It is better known as “Venus
flytrap”. D. muscipula occurs only in the USA in North and South Carolina. In those areas it
is highly endangered. D. muscipula is a popular carnivorous plant and because of that her
natural populations were strongly exploited. Today D. muscipula is mainly reproduced in
market gardens and the pressure on the natural populations is not that strong any more.
Nevertheless D. muscipula stands on the Red list.
D. muscipula grows on soils without many nutrients. Due to that fact it cannot get the
nutrients via the roots and needs another way to get them. The leaves of D. muscipula are
transformed to traps. The inside of the traps is red to mimic rotten carcass to attract flies. The
traps contain nectarines that produce a fluid that also helps to attract the insects. At the inside
of the trap there are some very small bristles. If an insect touches several of this bristles in a
short time, the trap will close immediately. This movement is the fastest movement that is
known in the whole world of plants. The trap has also bigger bristles at the edge of the trap
that form a kind of a cage when it is closed. The insect has no change to get back outside. Just
very small insects may have a chance. With a special secret the insects get digested.
Depending on the size of the insect it can take up to 10 days. After digestion the trap opens
The flowers of D. muscipula stand clearly above the trap (30 cm) to avoid that the pollinator
ends up in the trap. The flowers are small actinomorphic and white. They reach 3 cm in
The fruit is a capsule that includes several small black seeds. The root is a rhizome.
Cultivation from seeds:
D. muscipula is a light germinator. The seeds should only be slightly covered with substrate
that the light can come through. At a temperature of about 25°C and constant moist substrate
germination occurs after 4 to 7 weeks. D. muscipula can stand temperatures until minus 12 °C
but it should better be placed somewhere inside during winter time.
D. muscipula should be placed light and sunny.