Wild Venus Flytraps
Venus flytraps are native only to very specific habitats within about 100 miles of Wilmington North Carolina. They do not grow naturally anywhere else in the world. Unfortunately most of their native habitat has been destroyed and continues to be threatened by rapid development.
Venus Flytrap natural habitat
Within this small geographic range, Venus Flytrap habitats occur as part of the Longleaf Pine ecosystem which is made up of pine flatwoods, wet pine savannas, pocosins, and sand hills. The habitats within this ecosystem where Venus Flytraps are often found typically have widely spaced pine trees creating an open canopy. Wiregrass, shrubs and a very diverse herbaceous layer blanket the forest floor.
Venus Flytraps are often found growing at the ecotone or mixing zone between boggy wetlands and drier wiregrass savannas. Often, the habitats where they occur have a high water table and soils that remain moist through most of the year, however these habitats rarely have standing water.
The soils where they occur are composed of peat that developed atop sands of the Atlantic Costal Plain. Therefore, Venus Flytraps can be observed growing in a range of soil compositions ranging from mostly sand to purely organic soils and are sometimes associated with hummocks of Sphagnum moss. The combination of pine needle detritus, silica sand parent material, presence of sphagnum moss, and a hydrology dominated by rainwater not ground water, causes the soils to be acidic. These acidic, sandy soils often classify as spodosols.
These pictures were taken in August of 2019 at the Green Swamp Nature Preserve. If you visit this wonderful ecosystem remember that disturbing the plants in any way is prohibited. Poaching Venus Flytraps is a felony. Always keep the hiker’s mantra in mind: Take only pictures, leave only footprints.
