What are some environmental adaptations of Venus flytraps?
Quick Answer
The carnivorous Venus flytrap has some very unique and useful adaptations, including digesting small animals, such as flies and spiders, to get nutrients they cannot absorb through the poor soils in their native habitats. Additionally, Venus flytraps have adapted trigger hairs on the inside of their trap pads; when triggered by a bug, the trap will snap shut, making escape impossible.
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Among the many interesting adaptations Venus flytraps have developed to thrive in their native boggy environment is the ability to go long periods without "eating," making it easy for the plant to survive in the absence of suitable nutrition. The Venus flytrap has also adapted different mechanisms to cope with changing seasons, including specialized traps for summer and spring months and the ability to go dormant during cold winter months when insect activity is at a minimum.
Venus flytraps don't eat meat for fun; rather, it's an adaptation that is so important that people who want to keep Venus flytraps in their homes need to be careful about how they pot and feed the plants. As house plants, flytraps cannot be potted in regular potting soil, and they must never be fertilized. Keeping the plant alive in a normal domestic setting may require feeding the plant by placing digestible materials (including fresh-caught bugs) into its traps.
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