Nature field note
A hungry plant
The Snapping Trap of the Venus Flytrap
A Venus flytrap can snap its leaves shut around a wandering insect in less than a second, one of the fastest movements in the plant kingdom.
Let's look closer
How can a plant, which cannot see or hear, catch something that moves?
iny trigger hairs line the inside of each leaf, and the plant is careful not to snap shut over nothing; a bug typically needs to brush against two of those hairs, or touch one hair twice within about twenty seconds, before the leaf senses it and springs shut like a little trap. Once closed, the edges of the leaf interlock like fingers, trapping the insect inside while the trap seals tighter over the following day. The plant then slowly releases digestive juices to break down its meal, absorbing nutrients like nitrogen that its swampy, poor soil simply cannot provide.
Look for this
Explorer clue
If you ever see a Venus flytrap, look closely for the tiny trigger hairs standing up inside its open, pink-lined leaves.
Your turn to wonder
Curiosity question
If a plant can sense a tiny touch, what tiny things do you notice that other people might miss?
Keep wandering
