1. Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula
Prokaryote or Eukaryote?
No Nuclei or Nuclei?
Unicellular or Multicellular?
Cell Wall or No Cell Wall?
Heterotroph or Autotroph?
Motile or Sessile?
Sexual or Asexual Reproduction?
Kingdom?

2. Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula
Eukaryote
Nuclei in Cells
Multicellular
Cell wall
Autotrophs (I’ll explain)
Sessile
Sexual Reproduction
Plantae

3. Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula
Located in poor soil in southern swamps of the US.
These poor soil swamps have lots of water, but little nutrients and minerals that the plant needs– specifically nitrogen.

4. Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula
Nitrogen is found in the air but only makes it into the soil in a form that plants can absorb when things die and rot.

5. Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula
In these southern swamps there is too much acid for decomposing fungi to survive and break down living things, so when things die they rot VERY slowly and give off little nitrogen.

6. Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula
Plants that live in these swamps need to get nitrogen other ways and carnivorous plants like the Venus fly trap do this by capturing flies and other insects.

7. Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula
The trap attracts flies with a rotting smell and red color simulating flesh that flies eat
The movement of the fly stimulates rapid cell growth in the specialized leaves and the trap closes.

8. Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula
The trap doesn’t close all the way at first, allowing insects that are too small to escape.

9. Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula
Then the trap closes and the plant releases digestive fluids, slowly eating the insect.

10. Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula
When finished, the trap reopens and rain or wind washes the skeleton of the fly away.

11. Similar Species-- Sundew
Sundew plants use sticky sap to catch insects before they release enzymes to digest them and capture their nitrogen.

12. Similar Species– Pitcher Plant
Pitcher plants attract insects with scents and then the insects fall into a watery pool where they drown and then are slowly digested for their nitrogen.