What is the difference between the Venus Flytrap and the Pitcher plant?

Answer 1

Origin: Coastlines of North Carolina

Trap Type: Fast-snapping Active Traps

Favorite Food: Houseflies

Dislikes: Vegetables

Care Level: Medium

Scientific Name: Dionaea muscipula

A Venus Fly trap is one of the most amazing plants in the world. Their jaws-of-death move with lightning fast speed to trap the unlucky bug that lands on one of the plant's sweet pads. Venus fly trap leaves have sensors that detect motion inside its mouth. After one is moved, the trap gets poised to snap shut. After a second hit, it snaps shut! This two-hit requirement keeps a venus fly trap from closing on water, wind, or a still object such as a leaf.

Origin: Southeast United States

Trap Type: Digestive Tube Traps

Favorite Food: Yellow Jackets

Dislikes: Getting Stepped On

Care Level: Easy

Scientific Name: Sarracenia

The pitcher plant is one of the most famous carnivorous plants. They are known for their large size and can grow up to three feet tall! The name pitcher plant comes from the fact that their long tubular traps resemble pitchers of water. Some kinds of pitcher plant species actually fill up with water to aid in capturing and digesting their food. They can catch and eat any kind of bug and love larger bugs--crickets, grasshoppers, and even wasps and bees, but please do not hand feed these dangerous bugs to your pitcher plant.

The most common pitcher plant species are the North American pitcher plants. These plants grow mostly in the Southeast United States, but can be found all the way up the East Coast and across the Midwest. They like humid boggy conditions and a pitcher plant will prosper in sandy acidic soil. A pitcher plant will produce a tall beautiful flower in the spring which can grow into a seed pod containing hundreds of seeds. In a thought of mercy, the pitcher plant will grow its flowers earlier in the spring than its traps so it does not devour the friendly bugs who pollinate the flowers.

A pitcher plant works by creating an unescapable trap for a bug. First, a bug smells a nice nectar smell and is drawn towards the beautiful green, red, yellow, and even purple colors on the plants. As the bug lands on the neck of the pitcher, it becomes shaded by the hood, losing track of where the light is coming from. Sharp downward pointing hairs act as bayonets inside the pitcher plant that force the bug down the tube. The wall underneath these hairs is very slipperly, eliminating any chance for escape. As the bug slides down the long tube, it gets wedged against the narrowing tube. As it comes to rest, it will be slowly digested and become a tasty meal for the pitcher plant.