Thursday, February 02, 2023

The Endangered Species In the Big Box Store

Walking through Lowes this afternoon, I noticed a display of carnivorous plants — Pitcher Plants and Venus Flytraps. 

What’s notable is that the Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is only found in a very small patch of subtropical wetlands in North Carolina and South Carolina. It exists in the wild nowhere else in the world, and is an Endangered Species in the wild, where it catches insects and spiders with a trapping structure formed by teethed leaves which rapidly close when tiny trigger hairs are brushed by its tiny prey. It’s a truly fascinating and entertaining plant. 

Apparently, while Venus Flytraps are in serious peril in the wild, they are fairly easy to clone in industrial labs attached to greenhouses. The cloned plants that result live 20-30 years if fed, watered, and given light and consistent warmth. 

Who knew?

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