Venus flytrap  (Dionaea muscipula)

Description

The Venus flytrap is perhaps one of the best-known and most awesome plants. Its leaves are modified in an extraordinary way in order to feed on insects, although it does still obtain energy from the sun. The plant is an innocuous looking rosette (5), but the leaf blades terminate in distinctive bivalve traps with sharply toothed edges (2). The outside of the traps is generally green whilst the insides have red pigment that varies in shade depending on the age of the trap; on the edge of each lobe there are 14-20 teeth that point radially from the trap (2) (6). The flower stalk is devoid of leaves (known as a scape) and can reach up to 30 cm tall (2). In season, small white flowers are born with faint green veins; the seed capsules are flat and contain a single, shiny black seed (2).

Darwin Now is the British Council's contribution to the international celebration of the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150 year anniversary of the publication of On The Origin of Species
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