Appearance

• FlyTrapCare.com explains that the plant grows in three segments. The leaf-base grows out of the ground and connects to the trapping portion (called the leaf-blade or lamina) via the petiole. The lamina consists of two "lobes" with interior trigger hairs and edged with "finger-like cilia."
  
  

Eating

• Once an insect is trapped, digestive enzymes break down its innards. The remaining hard exoskeleton will be naturally disposed of by wind or rain.
  
  

Name

• The name connects the plant to the goddess Venus.g??ttin image by Angelika Bentin from Fotolia.com
  
  The International Carnivorous Plant Society offers two explanations for the name, Venus flytrap. The "family-friendly" version links the beauty of the plant’s white flowers to the beauty of the goddess Venus. An alternative version links the plant to Venus as the goddess of love and sex—and relates the appearance of the trapping mechanism to the human female genitalia.
  
  

Location

• Flytraps grow in swampy areas in the Carolinas.swamp landscape image by Caroline Henri from Fotolia.com
  
  Venus flytraps are found only in select swampy areas of North Carolina and South Carolina. Because of overcollection, the plants became endangered and are now grown in greenhouses.
  
  

Ideal Growing Conditions

• Ideal growing conditions mimic the natural habitat of the flytrap. The plants thrive in bog-like conditions which provide "wet roots, high humidity, full sunlight and poor acidic soil," according to the Botanical Society of America.