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NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Dionaea muscipula

Venus Flytrap, Meadow Clam, Tippitiwichet

Scientific Name:

Dionaea muscipula

Genus:

Dionaea

Species Epithet:

muscipula

Common Name:

Venus Flytrap, Meadow Clam, Tippitiwichet

Plant Type

Herb/Wildflower

Life Cycle

Perennial

Plant Family

Droseraceae (Sundew Family)

Native/Alien:

NC Native

Size:

0-1 ft.

Bloom Color(s):

White

Light:

Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day

Soil Moisture:

Moist, Wet

Bloom Time:

May, June

Growing Area:

Coastal Plain

Habitat Description:

Wet savannas, sandhill seepages. Rare in NC Coastal Plain.

Leaf Arrangement:

Basal

Leaf Retention:

Evergreen

Leaf Type:

Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like

Leaf Form:

Simple

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Wildlife Value:

Has some wildlife value

Landscape Value:

Not Recommended for home landscapes

State Rank:

S2: Imperiled (*Key)

Global Rank:

G2 - Imperiled (*Key)

State Status:

T: Threatened, Exploited (*Key)

Notes:

This carnivorous plant is endemic to an area in about an 80-mile arc around Wilmington, NC. It is frequently poached and sold to people who have very misguided perceptions about how the plant grows. Consequently most die.

You will find them in acidic, sandy soil that seems very dry but the water table is not far below the plant. They will die in continuously wet conditions.

Plants with buds

image

Tom Harville

Entire Plant with roots

image

David Blevins

This plant was confiscated from a poacher in NC and has been replanted into a protected area. Note: About half of this plant is underground so the root system is an inch or less below ground.

Close-up of plant

New Hanover County, NC

The Scientific Name is Dionaea muscipula. You will likely hear them called Venus Flytrap, Meadow Clam, Tippitiwichet. This picture shows the Close-up of plant of Dionaea muscipula

Bettina Darveaux

Close-up of flower in late May

Garden in Orange County, NC

The Scientific Name is Dionaea muscipula. You will likely hear them called Venus Flytrap, Meadow Clam, Tippitiwichet. This picture shows the Close-up of flower in late May of Dionaea muscipula

Bettina Darveaux

Green Swamp (Brunswick and Columbus Counties, NC)

The Scientific Name is Dionaea muscipula. You will likely hear them called Venus Flytrap, Meadow Clam, Tippitiwichet. This picture shows the  of Dionaea muscipula

Robert Bachand

Venus flytraps going to seed - these are hand-pollinated big-trap cultivar hybrids.

Watauga Co., NC, -cultivated

The Scientific Name is Dionaea muscipula. You will likely hear them called Venus Flytrap, Meadow Clam, Tippitiwichet. This picture shows the Venus flytraps going to seed - these are hand-pollinated big-trap cultivar hybrids. of Dionaea muscipula

Annkatrin Rose

These were harvested from hand-pollinated cultivated plants.

Watauga Co., NC.-cultivated

The Scientific Name is Dionaea muscipula. You will likely hear them called Venus Flytrap, Meadow Clam, Tippitiwichet. This picture shows the These were harvested from hand-pollinated cultivated plants. of Dionaea muscipula

Annkatrin Rose

Close-up of seeds

Watauga Co., NC.-cultivated

The Scientific Name is Dionaea muscipula. You will likely hear them called Venus Flytrap, Meadow Clam, Tippitiwichet. This picture shows the Close-up of seeds of Dionaea muscipula

Annkatrin Rose

Links:

USDA PLANTS Database Record



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