Green Options

Move over Venus Flytrap, a giant rodent-eating plant has been discovered in the Philippines!  Botanists discovered the new species of pitcher plant in a remote area of central Philippines.   Besides insects, the plant is so big it can even trap unsuspecting rodents and other small critters that get too close.  Catching its prey, the plant closes the tube around the animal, trapping them.

Venus flytraps, the rare carnivores of the plant world, are native only to areas within 100 miles of Wilmington, North Carolina. While the plant is now grown elsewhere, North Carolina is still a prime target for poachers looking to sell the plants to nurseries.

On February 5th, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission caught smugglers with 900 venus flytraps which were soon replanted by volunteers from the Nature Conservancy. A few weeks later, 1,300 more were recovered from poachers and again replanted.

The replanting is just the latest in the Nature Conservancy’s efforts to protect the flytraps’ native habitat.