Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Dionaea muscipula
FAMILY
Droseraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may enjoy viewing this 3-minute video, Venus Flytraps: Jaws of Death - BBC
Read more from the South Carolina Plant Conservation Alliance.
Each plant has a rosette of a handful of leaves, each leaf 1-2 inches long, with the outer half being greatly expanded into dime-sized folded "traps", with a hinge down the middle. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Dionaea's mechanism of closing (in as little as a half second!) has fascinated biologists for many years. Read more at the Botanical Society of America.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Dionaea muscipula
FAMILY
Droseraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Dionaea muscipula
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Dionaea muscipula
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 093-01-001:
Dionaea muscipula FAMILY Dionaeaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Dionaea muscipula
COMMON NAME:
Venus Flytrap, Meadow Clam, Tippitiwitchet
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Preston Montague www_north_carolina_tag
NC
Purchase of this tag supports native plant conservation & restoration in NC, per North Carolina Botanical Garden.
)
JK Marlow jkm060603_101
May Pickens County SC
Pickens County Museum
The plant's Latin name translates as "mousetrap", per Orchids, Carnivorous Plants, and Other Wildflowers of the Green Swamp, NC (Fowler, 2015).
)
Kevin Adams kcadionaeamuscipula_29
May Brunswick County NC
Green Swamp
This plant's unique leaves capture and absorb insects, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
Jerry Bright jeb_greenswamp062808_31
June Brunswick County NC
Green Swamp
The hinged clamshell-like leaf blades are on relatively long winged stalks, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
JK Marlow jkm070609_051
June Pickens County SC
Pickens County Museum
)
JK Marlow jkm070609_053
June Pickens County SC
Pickens County Museum
The leaves are borne in a conspicuous 4-6" cluster at the base of the plant, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
JK Marlow jkm070609_057
June Pickens County SC
Pickens County Museum
Flowers are about 5/8" wide and are borne on 1-12" scapes, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
JK Marlow jkm080607_029
June Pickens County SC
Pickens County Museum
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmdionaea_muscipula
Month Unknown
Traps vary in size, averaging ~ 2.5cm, and can shut in less than 1 second, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Dionaea muscipula
FAMILY
Droseraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Dionaea muscipula
FAMILY
Droseraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Dionaea muscipula
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Dionaea muscipula
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 093-01-001:
Dionaea muscipula
FAMILY
Dionaeaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Dionaea muscipula
471
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Wet pine savannas, sandhill seepages, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas
Rare in Carolina Coastal Plain (waifs inland)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
5-merous
5 sepals
5 petals
15 stamens (approximately)
Superior ovary
Inflorescence an umbelliform cyme
FRUIT:
Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p127
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p261
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p368
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p140
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p178
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p101
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".