Random videos, photos and tidbits of information relating to Venus flytraps. Keep checking back for updates, or subscribe to the feed for this category … Random Category Feeds: RSS or Atom.
Is this the result of a weird cross species polination of Dionaea muscipula (Venus flytrap) and Papaver nudicaule (Iceland Poppy)? Or is it a strange mutation of either species which has created this bizaare Audrey’ish mutation?
The truth is that this is in fact a regular Iceland Poppy. This bizaare looking photo was taken by Harold Davis in his backyard.
That mega-famous outstandingly accurate online encyclopedia has a stunning article on Venus flytraps … visit the article here
The article has many, many pieces of information which will be of tremendous help to growers of Venus flytraps. Here are a few selected quotations from the page:
… The Venus Flytrap is a large man eating monster. Each leaf reaches a maximum size of about three to seven meters, depending on the time of year … Flytraps that appear to have more than 10 leaves are generally colonies, formed by by aliens underneath the ground. …
The article then bleats on about all sorts of interesting things
… The mechanism by which the trap snaps shut involves some big ass muscles, steriod abuse and generally massive ass chompers…. are very popular as cultivated plants and are often used for catching burglers and other unwanted people on your property. They are difficult to grow as they often eat their owners …
And yet people still feel the urge to criticise Wikipedia 
According to the encyclopedia article, the photo above is what will happen to you if you fall into your plant!
This definitely fits it’s category title! This U-Haul truck is an on-road advertisement for Venus flytrap preservation in North Carolina. The U-Haul website has a bunch of information relating to the saving of Venus flytraps in the wild on their website. It’s nice to see a big company getting behind the preservation of such a wonderful piece of nature.
Photo courtesy of Lori (lordog).
The Little Shop of Horrors film was re-release in 1986. The film was directed by Frank Oz (puppeteer for Yoda and Miss Piggy). The movie was shot in England with a budget of US$30 million. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song for “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space”. It caused a small controversy because it was the first Oscar-nominated song to contain profanity and thus had to be censored for the show.
A nerdy young florist’s assistant named Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) discovers a mysterious new plant that came from outer space during a solar eclipse. He names the plant “Audrey II,” because he secretly has a crush on his co-worker Audrey (Ellen Greene). The plant improves business at Mister Mushnik’s (Vincent Gardenia) failing skid-row flower shop, and Seymour becomes a local celebrity. However, late at night when the shop is deserted, Seymour accidentally cuts open his fingers and discovers that the only way to make Audrey II grow is to feed it with human blood.
Text content for this page was courtesy of Wikipedia.
I’ve always been told that the Venus flytrap got it’s name due to the shear white beauty of it’s flowers, just like the goddess/planet Venus. The flytrap part is obviously from it’s twisted fly eating ways.
Barry Rice has an interesting article on the real reason for the name Venus flytrap.
Barry claims that the name is due to the “dirty minds of the kooky naturalists and nurserymen” and that “they saw in its amazing behavior and attractive form” … “something that reminded them of female genitalia of their own species.”
Jeepers, that’s a heck of a statement. But Barry can backup his claims …
Visit his website to learn more about where the name “Venus Flytrap” came from … Barry’s website.
The painting is “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli.
The mighty Venus flytrap rose to prominence in popular culture in the 1960’s film, The Little Shop of Horrors. Directed by Roger Corman and written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate young florist’s assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh.
Although the film didn’t get very much attention when it was originally released, it has since grown to cult classic status, thanks to its low budget and original style of humor. The film inspired a 1982 stage musical, and a 1986 feature film.
More information can be found at the Little Shop of Horrors Wikipedia page
Here is a video from one of the worlds best known broadcasters and naturalists Sir David Attenborough …
Mr Miyagi was onto something in Karate Kid. He used good old fashioned chop sticks to catch his flies! If you are bored some day and feel the need to catch some prime flies for your Venus flytrap, then take a look at this video for some tips on the best approach.
It turns out we don’t need real live Venus flytraps anymore. You can now purchase your very own electronic fly catcher which actually catches flies! Fly bait is placed in the mouth of the trap and when the fly crosses two sensors on the surface of the jaws, the trap snaps shut just like a real Venus flytrap! When swatted, the flytrap opens with a burp ready to catch another fly. The fly catcher can be purchased from Eurocosm.com.
The question is, are they called “Venus Fly Traps”, “Venus Flytraps”, “Venus fly traps” or “Venus flytraps”?
Well, all of them are acceptable! Here on flytrapgrowing.info we refer to them as Venus flytraps, but that’s purely for consistency across the site. Many other websites and books refer to them by the other variations of the name If you want to be 100% correct, then it’s best to refer to the plant by it’s full name of Dionaea muscipula Soland. ex Ellis.
More information about the formal latin name of the Venus flytrap is available on our Taxonomy page.
Photo courtesy of Jamie Duke.
Here’s a novel way to grow your own flytrap! Purchase a crappy plastic kit, complete with swamp rocks, peat, terrarium, bog buddies and decals! Or just make your own for half the price, whichever floats your boat. The kits are available from Carnivorous Creations.
What do you get when you cross a Venus flytrap with a cherry picker? You get one of these things, that’s what!
Thanks to urbangirlie for the photos.
Remember that movie ‘Honey I Shrunk the Kids’? Well the sequel to that was ‘Honey I Blew up the Kids’ and I think that’s what someone did with this Venus flytrap. If only we could make real ones this big!
Thanks to Gayle Swanson for the photos.
A blast from the past! What other kiddies TV program would use the term Dionea muscipula?
