We all witness – on an almost daily basis – carnivorous beings viciously feeding on the less strong and fortunate ones. It may be jaw dropping news for you at first to know that some plants , AKA the planet’s nicest and most peaceful beings, are one of those ruthless carnivorous beings, such as The Venus Flytrap plant. It will even be more astounding to understand how does the Venus Flytrap work .

First let’s introduce to you the deadly, merciless plant, The Venus Flytrap.

video credits : BBC Youtube Channel

Now that you have met the Venus Flytrap plant, let’s jump into how does the Venus Flytrap plant work and the biology behind this amazing plant.

UNDERSTANDING THE VENUS FLYTRAP PLANT

To understand how does the Venus Flytrap plant works we first must address the odd fact that it is a insect feeding plant. Like any other plant, the Venus Flytrap plant is able to synthesize glucose ( nutrient ) from carbon dioxide, water and the aid of sunlight energy, this process is what is called photosynthesis. Nevertheless, it still needs to acquire some other nutrients like nitrogenous compounds in order to basically survive. The dilemma lies within the fact that Venus Flytrap plant lives in swampy areas, thus obtaining those nitrogenous compounds is kind of an obstacle in such environments. So it goes without saying that it obtains such nutrients by trapping and digesting insects.

STRUCTURE OF THE VENUS FLYTRAP

In order for the Venus Flytrap to do it’s desired function ( trap insects and digest them ) it has to have some morphological and chemical adaptations to perform such functions. This takes us to Venus Fly Trap Structure.

Such adaptations may include :

The leaf is divided into two lobes, either side of the midrib the lobes bulge upwards and are convex in shape.

The inside of each lobe is red and has nectar secreting glands to attract the insect.

The inner surface of each lobe contains gland cells which contains vesicles containing digestive enzymes.

Each lobe has two or three stiff hairs ( sensory hairs ) as shown in the figure .

HOW DOES THE VENUS FLYTRAP WORK

Now that we have established the real reason why this plant is a carnivore, we now explain in vivid details how does the Venous Flytrap work. Remember the ” sensory hairs ” we mentioned in the adaptations of the VF plant ? if you don’t get back to the adaptations section as those hairs are essentially what triggers this all.

Insects, flies for instance, are attracted by the colorful leaves represented by the VF plant. Not only does the colorful leaves attract the insect but also the nectar secreted by the nectar secreting glands found in the VF’s leaves. With such looks the Venus Flytrap ensures that its preys will land on its deadly trap.

Now that the insect has landed and started sweeping the nectar, it begins to touch the sensory hairs of the leaves. The deflection of the sensory hairs then stimulates calcium ion channels in the cells at the base of the hairs to open. Calcium ions diffuse into the cells and generate an action potential which travels very rapidly across the leaf.

The lobes of the leaf respond to such impulse by changing its convexity into a concave shape, bending downwards so the trap snaps shut. Unfortunately for the terrified insect, further stimulation of the stiff hairs by the moving trapped insect triggers further action potentials. This causes the edges of the lobes sealing the trap in which the prey digestion takes place.

Finally, calcium ions secreted diffuse into the gland cells stimulating exocytosis of vesicle containing digestive enzymes to fully digest the trapped insect. This brutality shown by the Venus Flytrap plant is why it is considered one of the deadliest carnivore plants out there.

Before you go ..

However, one of the most fascinating adaptations that was not mentioned above is yet to be mentioned. To avoid unnecessarily closure of the lobes by a fallen leaf or rain for instance and to ensure no energy wasted , the Venus Flytrap has this adaptation that the stimulation of a single hair does not trigger closure, it has to be 3 stiff ( sensory ) hairs stimulated.

That’s all for today folks , i hope you enjoyed this post explaining how does the Venus Flytrap work and for any questions please do not hesitate to contact thebiomanual team or leave your question in the comments below.