Venus Fly Trap
February 04, 2006
Provided and copyright by: David Lynch, Thule Scientific
Summary authors & editors: David Lynch
The Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea muscipula) is famous for its rapid motion and carnivorous appetite. Here one has caught a fly, which is seen silhouetted against the green jaws in backlit sunlight. The Venus Fly Trap is found in nitrogen-poor bogs in the southeastern United States, mainly within a 100-mile radius of Wilmington, North Carolina. It has no cousins and is the only member of the Dionaea genus. Dionaea comes from the Greek Dione , a name for Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Oddly enough, the history of muscipula seems to be lost. Some claim it means mousetrap, from the Latin mus for mouse. Others think it is from the Latin musca, for fly. Does anyone know the real etymology of muscipula?
Related Links: