Carnivorous plants come from wild jungles where you’ll also find quicksand and big snakes, right? Well, some do, but not the Venus Flytrap. Not even close.

Arguably the most famous meat-eating flora, the Venus Flytrap is indigenous to the Carolinas on the east coast of the United States. The plant was first ‘discovered’ by North Carolina’s colonial governor in 1759. I’m sure the native people were well aware of it long before then.

Fortunately, these things are harmless to humans. The majority of their diet is ants and spiders. Despite the name, Venus Flytraps only get flies or other flying insects about 5% of the time.

The ‘traps’ are highly modified leaves, with a sophisticated time-delay trigger. Activation only occurs once a second trigger is stimulated within a short time of the first. This maintains efficiency so the plant doesn’t waste energy on dust or rain.  This would suggest a form of memory… pretty cool.

Venus Flytraps can now be found all over the world because of cultivation for use as house plants. I had no idea they are native to the southern U.S.