CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. – Park ranger Jesse Anderson guides weekly hikes in North Carolina, allowing visitors to experience some of the world's most unique living organisms: the Venus flytrap and other carnivorous plants. Unlike the fictional Audrey from *Little Shop of Horrors*, Venus flytraps are much smaller, about the size of a lima bean, and pose no threat to humans, only to insects.
Venus flytraps possess special hairs that cause their leaves to snap shut when triggered, but they usually only close twice within a span of about 20 seconds to minimize false triggers from dust or rain. Once an insect is caught, the trap closes, and digestive enzymes are released to break down the insect to supplement their nutrient intake from sunlight, as explained by Anderson.
The hike at Carolina Beach State Park, located along the southeastern coast of North Carolina, features various carnivorous plants. In addition to Venus flytraps, there are pitcher plants that trap insects in liquid, butterworts and sundews that lure with sticky leaves, and bladderworts, which have trapping mechanisms similar to the flytrap.
The Venus flytrap is native to only 12 counties in southeastern North Carolina, near Wilmington, and select regions in South Carolina. This limited distribution led to it being designated the official carnivorous plant of North Carolina in 2023. The prime time for observing these fascinating plants is from mid-May to mid-June when they bloom.
These delicate plants rely on wildfires in the pine forests where they are found to clear away dense underbrush, allowing sunlight to reach them. However, they face significant threats from poachers and habitat development. Harvesting these plants without permission is a felony in North Carolina and a misdemeanor in South Carolina. For example, in 2016, a man received a 17-month prison sentence for illegally taking nearly 1,000 Venus flytraps from game land in Hampstead, North Carolina.
As one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States, the habitat of Venus flytraps has been increasingly compromised by urban development. Consequently, most of these plants are now found in protected areas. Scientists estimated that only around 300,000 flytraps remain in the Carolinas as of several years ago.
Although Anderson's hike provides a rare glimpse of Venus flytraps in their natural habitat, commercially cultivated versions of the plant are available worldwide in greenhouses and plant stores, thriving in the right conditions. Anderson notes that these plants favor nutrient-poor soils and do not tolerate typical well or tap water; instead, they require rainwater, distilled water, or reverse osmosis water.
Venus flytraps need abundant sunlight and moist but not soggy soil to thrive. They can survive without catching insects if they obtain enough nutrients through photosynthesis. However, it is advised not to feed them inappropriate foods such as hamburger meat, which is not part of their diet. Additionally, triggering the traps to close without an insect present is discouraged, as it consumes energy that the plant must replace.
