The first member to correctly identify this plant and tell us a bit about it will win $5.

Once we`ve got the answer I`ll move this thread into the appropriate folder.

we have one growing in our window.

venus fly trap

evilstartswith4 Wrote:we have one growing in our window.

venus fly trap

lol, well I thought we`d have a fairly easy one to start off with, (although I thought the Spice one was fairly easy but proved not to be). :lol:

Now, evilstartswith4, how about a bit of information about the Venus Fly Trap just to round things off?

Then just let me have your e-gold or PayPal details and I`ll send you your $5 winnings. :wink:

The plant is a small herb, forming a rosette of four to seven leaves, which arise from a short subterranean stem which is actually a bulb-like rhizome. Each leaf reaches a maximum size of about three to seven cm, depending on the time of year[2]; longer leaves with robust traps are generally formed after flowering. Flytraps that appear to have more leaves are generally colonies, formed by rosettes that have divided beneath the ground.
The edges of a Venus Flytrap leaf are equipped with teeth-like protrusions called Cilia, while the inside has red pigmentation that attracts insects. Notice the trigger hairs on the innder trap surface.
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The edges of a Venus Flytrap leaf are equipped with teeth-like protrusions called Cilia, while the inside has red pigmentation that attracts insects. Notice the trigger hairs on the innder trap surface.
Time-lapse photography of a growing trap.
Enlarge
Time-lapse photography of a growing trap.

The leaf blade is divided into two regions: a flat, heart shaped photosynthetic capable petiole, and a pair of terminal lobes hinged at the midrib, forming the trap which is actually the true leaf. The upper surface of these lobes contains red anthocyanin pigments and its edges secrete mucilage. The lobes exhibit rapid plant movements, snapping shut when stimulated by prey. The trapping mechanism is tripped when prey items stumble against one of the three hair-like trichomes that are found on the upper surface of each of the lobes. The trigger hairs must be touched twice in quick succession (which prevents non-prey stimuli such as raindrops from triggering the trap), whereupon the lobes snap shut in c. 100 ms. The edges of the lobes are fringed by stiff hair-like protrusions or cilia, which mesh together and prevent large prey items from escaping. (These protrusions, and the trigger hairs, are probably homologous with the tentacles found in this plant’s close relatives, the sundews). The holes in the meshwork allow small prey to escape, presumably because the benefit that would be obtained from them would be less than the cost of digesting them. If the prey is too small and escapes, the trap will reopen within 12 hours.