A plant that eats bugs and can count to two? Sounds like science fiction, right? Meet the Venus flytrap, a tiny green hunter that fascinated even Charles Darwin. Let’s find out how this clever little plant catches its dinner. Also, quick FYI: CRP will be off for the July 4th weekend, see you next week!
捕蝇草是一种很特别的植物。大多数植物只靠阳光、水和土里的营养生活，但是捕蝇草还会”吃”小虫子，所以人们叫它”食肉植物“。在十九世纪，有名的科学家达尔文研究过这种植物，说它是”世界上最奇妙的植物之一”。
它的家在哪里？
在野外，捕蝇草只生长在美国的两个州：北卡罗来纳州和南卡罗来纳州，大多在离威尔明顿市大约 120 公里的地方。那里的土很湿，营养却很少。因为土里的营养不够，所以捕蝇草要从小虫子身上得到营养。它们也需要”火”。火可以烧掉别的高大植物，让捕蝇草能晒到更多的太阳。
它怎么抓虫子？
捕蝇草的叶子像一张小嘴，可以打开，也可以合上。叶子会放出一种很甜的东西，把苍蝇、蚂蚁这样的小虫子吸引过来。叶子里面长着几根很细的小毛。如果虫子在大约 20 秒里碰到这些小毛两次，叶子就会很快合上，把虫子关在里面。这个动作非常快，不到一秒钟。
有意思的是，如果只碰一次，叶子不会动。所以下雨的时候，就算雨点碰到小毛，捕蝇草也不会浪费力气。可以说，这种植物会”数数”。
它怎么吃东西？
虫子被关住以后，捕蝇草会放出一种特别的水，把虫子慢慢”消化“掉。大约十天以后，叶子又会重新打开，准备抓下一只虫子。
一些有意思的事
一棵捕蝇草可以活 20 年左右。因为很多人喜欢它，所以有人会偷偷把野生的捕蝇草挖走。从 2014 年开始，在北卡罗来纳州偷挖捕蝇草是很重的罪。好消息是，到 2023 年，这种植物的数量还比较稳定，没有马上消失的危险。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| <p>捕蝇草 | bǔ yíng cǎo | Venus flytrap |
| 食肉植物 | shí ròu zhí wù | carnivorous plant |
| 营养 | yíng yǎng | nutrients |
| 吸引 | xī yǐn | to attract |
| 消化 | xiāo huà | to digest |
| 奇妙 | qí miào | wonderful; marvelous |
| 生长 | shēng zhǎng | to grow |
| 浪费 | làng fèi | to waste |
| 稳定 | wěn dìng | stable |
| 野生 | yě shēng | wild (not cultivated) |
| 捕 | bú | to catch; to seize; to capture |
| 蝇 | yíng | fly; musca; CL:隻|只[zhi1] |
| 草 | cǎo | variant of 草[cao3]; grass; straw; manuscript; draft (of a document); careless; rough; CL:棵[ke1],撮[zuo3],株[zhu1],根[gen1] |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 一种 | yī zhǒng | one kind of; one type of |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 特别 | tè bié | unusual; special; very; especially; particularly; expressly; for a specific purpose; (often followed by 是[shi4]) in particular |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 植 | zhī | to plant |
| 物 | wù | (bound form) thing; (literary) the outside world as distinct from oneself; people other than oneself |
| 大多数 | dà duō shù | (great) majority |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 靠 | kào | to lean against or on; to stand by the side of; to come near to; to depend on; to trust; to fuck (vulgar); traditional military costume drama where the performers wear armor (old) |
| 阳光 | yáng guāng | sunshine; (of personality) upbeat; energetic; transparent (open to public scrutiny) |
| 水 | Shuǐ | surname Shui; Shui ethnic group |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 土 | Tǔ | surname Tu; Tu ethnic group |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 生 | shēng | to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu… |
| 活 | huó | to live; alive; living; work; workmanship |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc); variant of 吃[chi1] |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 虫子 | chóng zi | insect; bug; worm; CL:條|条[tiao2],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 十九 | shí jǐu | nineteen; 19 |
| 世纪 | shì jì | century |
| 有名 | yǒu míng | famous; well-known |
| 科学家 | kē xué jiā | scientist |
| 达尔文 | Dá ěr wén | Charles Darwin (1809–1882), British biologist, author of "On the Origin of Species" 物種起源|物种起源[Wu4 zhong3 Qi3 yuan2]; Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory (Australia) |
| 研究 | yán jīu | research; a study; CL:項|项[xiang4]; to research; to look into |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 这种 | zhè zhǒng | this kind of |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 世界 | shì jiè | world |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 之一 | zhī yī | one of (sth); one out of a multitude; one (third, quarter, percent etc) |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 哪 | nǎ | how; which |
| 野外 | yě wài | countryside; areas outside the city |
| 美国 | Měi guó | United States; USA; US |
| 两 | liǎng | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 州 | zhōu | prefecture; (old) province; (old) administrative division; state (e.g. of US); oblast (Russia); canton (Switzerland) |
| 北 | běi | north; (classical) to be defeated |
| 卡 | kǎ | to stop; to block; (computing) (coll.) slow; (loanword) card; CL:張|张[zhang1],片[pian4]; truck (from "car"); calorie (abbr. for 卡路里[ka3 lu4 li3]); cassette |
| 罗 | Luó | surname Luo |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 纳 | Nà | surname Na |
| 南 | Nán | surname Nan |
| 大多 | dà duō | for the most part; many; most; the greater part; mostly |
| 离 | chī | mythical beast (archaic); surname Li |
| 威 | wei | power; prestige |
| 尔 | ěr | variant of 爾|尔[er3]; thus; so; like that; you; thou |
| 明 | Míng | Ming Dynasty (1368–1644); surname Ming; Ming (c. 2000 BC), fourth of the legendary Flame Emperors, 炎帝[Yan2 di4] descended from Shennong 神農|神农[Shen2 nong2] Farmer God |
| 顿 | dùn | to stop; to pause; to arrange; to lay out; to kowtow; to stamp (one's foot); at once; classifier for meals, beatings, scoldings etc: time, bout, spell, meal |
| 市 | shì | market; city; municipality (administrative unit); (literary) to trade; to buy and sell goods |
| 大约 | dà yuē | approximately; probably |
| 公里 | gōng lǐ | kilometer |
| 地方 | dì fāng | region; regional (away from the central administration); local |
| 那里 | nà li | there; that place |
| 湿 | shi | wet; moist; damp |
| 却 | què | old variant of 卻|却[que4]; but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though |
| 少 | shǎo | few; less; to lack; to be missing; to stop (doing sth); seldom |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 不够 | bù gòu | not enough; insufficient; inadequate |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 从小 | cóng xiǎo | from childhood; from a young age |
| 身上 | shēn shang | on the body; at hand; among |
| 得到 | dé dào | to get; to obtain; to receive |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 需要 | xū yào | to need; to want; to demand; to require; needs |
| 火 | Huǒ | surname Huo |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 烧 | shāo | to burn; to set on fire; to heat (over a fire); to boil (water, tea etc); to braise; to cook; to prepare food; to run a fever; fever; (coll.) to become full of oneself; to get carr… |
| 掉 | diào | to fall; to drop; to lag behind; to lose; to go missing; to reduce; fall (in prices); to lose (value, weight etc); to wag; to swing; to turn; to change; to exchange; to swap; to sh… |
| 别的 | bié de | else; other |
| 高大 | gāo dà | tall; lofty; towering |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 晒 | shài | variant of 曬|晒[shai4]; (of the sun) to shine on; to bask in (the sunshine); to dry (clothes, grain etc) in the sun; (fig.) to expose and share (one's experiences and thoughts) on the Web (loanword from "… |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 更 | gēng | to change or replace; to experience; one of the five two-hour periods into which the night was formerly divided; watch (e.g. of a sentry or guard) |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 太阳 | tài yang | sun; sunlight; sunshine; temple (on the side of the human head) (abbr. for 太陽穴|太阳穴[tai4 yang2 xue2]) |
| 怎 | zěn | how |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 抓 | zhua | to grab; to arrest; to scratch |
| 叶子 | yè zi | leaf (CL:片[pian4]); (slang) marijuana |
| 像 | xiàng | to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.) |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 张 | Zhāng | surname Zhang |
| 嘴 | zuǐ | mouth; beak; nozzle; spout (of teapot etc); CL:張|张[zhang1],個|个[ge4] |
| 打开 | dǎ kāi | to open; to show (a ticket); to turn on; to switch on |
| 合 | gě | 100 ml; one-tenth of a peck; measure for dry grain equal to one-tenth of sheng 升 or liter, or one-hundredth dou 斗; variant of 合[he2] |
| 放出 | fàng chū | to let off; to give out |
| 甜 | tián | sweet; (fig.) pleasant; endearing; lovely |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 苍 | cang | dark green; grey; pale; the heavens; grey-haired |
| 蚂 | má | used in 螞螂|蚂螂[ma1 lang2] |
| 蚁 | yí | ant |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 里面 | lǐ miàn | variant of 裡面|里面[li3 mian4] |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 几 | jī | small table; (literary) almost |
| 根 | gēn | root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry) |
| 细 | xì | thin or slender; finely particulate; thin and soft; fine; delicate; trifling; (of a sound) quiet; frugal |
| 毛 | Máo | surname Mao |
| 如 | rú | as; as if; such as |
| 果 | guǒ | fruit; result; resolute; indeed; if really |
| 秒 | miǎo | second (unit of time); arc second (angular measurement unit); (coll.) instantly |
| 碰到 | pèng dào | to come across; to run into; to meet; to hit |
| 这些 | zhè xiē | these |
| 次 | cì | next in sequence; second; the second (day, time etc); secondary; vice-; sub-; infra-; inferior quality; substandard; order; sequence; hypo- (chemistry); classifier for enumerated e… |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 关 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 动作 | dòng zuò | movement; motion; action; to act; to move |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 不到 | bù dào | not to arrive; not reaching; insufficient; less than |
| 秒钟 | miǎo zhōng | (time) second |
| 有意思 | yǒu yì si | interesting; meaningful; enjoyable; fun |
| 碰 | pèng | variant of 碰[peng4]; to touch; to meet with; to bump; old variant of 碰[peng4] |
| 一次 | yī cì | first; first time; once; (math.) linear (of degree one) |
| 不会 | bù huì | improbable; unlikely; will not (act, happen etc); not able; not having learned to do sth; (coll.) (Tw) don't mention it; not at all |
| 动 | dòng | (of sth) to move; to set in movement; to displace; to touch; to make use of; to stir (emotions); to alter; abbr. for 動詞|动词[dong4 ci2], verb |
| 下雨 | xià yǔ | to rain |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 算 | suàn | to calculate; to figure out; to include; to count in; to count; to be valid; to carry weight; to regard as; to consider (to be ...) |
| 雨点 | yǔ diǎn | raindrop |
| 力气 | lì qi | physical strength |
| 数数 | shǔ shù | to count; to reckon |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, … |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 慢 | màn | slow |
| 十 | shí | ten; 10 |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 重新 | chóng xīn | again; once more; re- |
| 准备 | zhǔn bèi | preparation; to prepare; to intend; to be about to; reserve (fund) |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 一些 | yī xiē | some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er |
| 事 | shì | matter; thing; item; work; affair; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1],回[hui2] |
| 棵 | kē | classifier for trees, cabbages, plants etc |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 左右 | zuǒ yòu | left and right; nearby; approximately; attendant; to control; to influence |
| 喜欢 | xǐ huan | to like; to be fond of |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people; anyone; there is someone there; occupied (as in restroom) |
| 偷 | tou | to steal; to snatch; stealthily |
| 挖 | wa | to dig; to scoop out |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 重 | chóng | to repeat; repetition; again; re-; classifier: layer |
| 罪 | zuì | guilt; crime; fault; blame; sin; variant of 罪[zui4], crime |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 消 | xiāo | to diminish; to subside; to consume; to reduce; to idle away (the time); (after 不[bu4] or 只[zhi3] or 何[he2] etc) to need; to require; to take |
| 息 | xī | breath; news; interest (on an investment or loan); to cease; to stop; to rest; Taiwan pr. [xi2] |
| 数量 | shù liàng | amount; quantity; quantitative; (math.) scalar quantity |
| 比较 | bǐ jiào | to compare; to contrast; comparatively; relatively; quite; comparison |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 马上 | mǎ shàng | at once; right away; immediately; on horseback (i.e. by military force) |
| 失 | shī | to lose; to miss; to fail |
| 危险 | wēi xiǎn | danger; dangerous |
The Venus flytrap is a very special plant. Most plants live only on sunlight, water, and nutrients in the soil, but the Venus flytrap also ‘eats’ small insects, so people call it a ‘carnivorous plant.’ In the 19th century, the famous scientist Darwin studied this plant and said it was ‘one of the most wonderful plants in the world.’
Where is its home?
In the wild, the Venus flytrap only grows in two states in the United States: North Carolina and South Carolina, mostly in places about 120 kilometers from the city of Wilmington. The soil there is very wet, but has very few nutrients. Because there aren’t enough nutrients in the soil, the Venus flytrap has to get nutrients from small insects. They also need ‘fire.’ Fire can burn away other tall plants, allowing the Venus flytrap to get more sunshine.
How does it catch insects?
The Venus flytrap’s leaves are like a little mouth that can open and close. The leaves give off a very sweet substance that attracts small insects like flies and ants. Inside the leaves grow several very thin tiny hairs. If an insect touches these tiny hairs twice within about 20 seconds, the leaves will quickly close, trapping the insect inside. This movement is very fast, less than one second.
What’s interesting is that if it’s only touched once, the leaves won’t move. So when it rains, even if raindrops touch the tiny hairs, the Venus flytrap won’t waste energy. You could say this plant can ‘count.’
How does it eat?
After the insect is trapped, the Venus flytrap releases a special liquid that slowly ‘digests’ the insect. After about ten days, the leaves open again, ready to catch the next insect.
Some interesting facts
A Venus flytrap can live about 20 years. Because many people like it, some people secretly dig up wild Venus flytraps. Starting in 2014, illegally digging up Venus flytraps in North Carolina became a serious crime. The good news is that as of 2023, the number of these plants is still fairly stable, with no immediate danger of disappearing.