Common name:  Venus Fly trap
Scientific name: Dionaea Muscipula
Common Info:
When you say carnivorous plant most people are going to think Venus flytrap. In fact, many people think this is the only Carnivorous plant on earth. Unknown to most people is that the Venus Flytrap is only one of several hundred species of Carnivorous Plants.
The Venus Flytrap originates from North and South Carolina making it a temperate plant that experiences a major change of seasons which means it goes dormant during winter. Like most carnivorous plants it grows in wet acidic bog areas where there are little nutrients in the strata. To make up for this lack of nutrients, it has evolved to consume insects. The plant itself is a slow grower but can live up to 20 years in the proper environment and reach sizes of up to eight inches in diameter with one inch, light red colored traps for the typical variety.
Although Dionaea muscipula is a monotypical species there are variations of the plant which have been produced through selective cultivation and tissue culture mutation. By using sterile tissue culture we are able to clone these plants keeping their unique characteristics intact.

 
Care:
The five basic rules apply to the Venus Flytrap and if you follow these you will be able to watch your plant grow to a nice size and propagate from the corm (root ball). A Venus Flytrap trap has only a limited number of times that it can be tripped before it will die, each trap is good for three or four closings so it is best not to tease the traps too much without feeding them as you will end up waiting for new traps to grow. At two years of age the Venus Flytrap will begin to flower, usually in May. Unless you desperately want to try growing flytraps from seed it is best to cut the flower off low on the flower stock or the plant will expend energy on developing seed that would otherwise go into growing more traps. For winter dormancy it is best to let the soil dry a bit, you still want it to be a bit damp but not sopping wet, the plant is then placed in a cool dark area for three months. A north facing window in the basement or garage are examples of good places to leave the plant for dormancy. It is wise to transplant your Venus Flytrap at least once every 2 years. Use a mixture of 50% Canadian sphagnum peat moss, 25% washed sand and 25% medium perlite. This is best done in the spring when new growth starts. Do not use potting soil as it contains fertilizer which will harm your plant.
 
 
 

Red Rosetted Venus Flytrap

Dente' or 'Dentate trap' Venus Flytrap

Red Dragon Venus Flytrap


The Red Rosetted Venus Flytrap is a cultivar of the typical Venus flytrap meaning that it can only be propagated vegetatively through leaf cuttings, corm division or tissue culture. It is a smaller plant whose leaves grow in a rosetted shape and hug the ground with the traps developing a deep red interior color. Its requirements are the same as the typical Venus Flytrap


Another cultivated variety characterized by short jagged cilia (the fingers of the trap lobes). 


A cultivar of Dionaea characterized by the whole plant obtaining a deep maroon colour in direct sunlight. In lower light levels the plant will still exhibit much red coloration to it.

 
       
 

Green Dragon Venus Flytrap

B-52 Venus Flytrap

Giant Red Venus Flytrap


A cultivar of Dionaea characterized by the plant obtaining a deep maroon colour in direct sunlight. In lower light levels the plant will still exhibit much red coloration to it. Very similar to the Red Dragon except that the trap lobe edges remain green even in direct sunlight

 


A recently registered cultivar that can obtain large traps of up to two inches.


A cultivated form that obtains a deep red colour in direct sunlight and has larger than normal traps.