Species
There are only one species of Venus Fly Trap, there are many different varieties. A few different kinds of different varieties of venus fly traps are: Green dragon Red dragon, and the fang. In addition to these, there are many types of Fly Traps, but you would need to know about mutants and varieties. A mutant is a change in the DNA (building block of all living plants and animals) that often, but not always, makes a change that is not good for the plant. A Variety is a merging of DNA to cause a difference in size or color. Basically that all Venus Fly Traps are the same species, that being Dionaea muscipula just different varieties. There are about more than twenty different types of venus flytraps but are grown differently.
Red Dragon
Green Dragon
Ecosystem
Range: The Venus flytrap is endemic to North and South Carolina, but it has been introduced to a few other states including Florida and New Jersey. Venus fly traps are popular in being house hold plants but they are being sold by cultivated or collected from declining wild populations.
Environment: It grows in moist, acidic soil which may be poor in nutrients. Venus flytraps need an open understory (the part of the forest below the canopy) to live. Part of what keeps the understory open is natural fires that sweep through and burn away parts of trees and shrubs. These fires can become dangerous to humans, so often we stop them before they have a chance to provide benefits to the forest. This results in less suitable habitat for the sun-loving Venus fly trap.
Ecological Niche: In the bogs is where the Venus Flytraps are, the soil is acidic, and minerals and other nutrients are scarce. Most plants can't survive in this environment because they cannot make enough of the building blocks necessary for growth. The Venus Flytrap has evolved the ability to thrive in this unique ecological niche by finding an alternate means of getting key nutrients like nitrogen. Living creatures like insects provide a good source of the nutrients missing from the soil, and they also contain additional energy-laden carbohydrates.
Phylogenetic Tree
Dionaea muscipula is placed in the order Caryophyllales. Other members in this order include: Nepenthes, Drosophyllum, Habropetalum, Dioncophyllum, Triphyophyllum, Drosera, and Aldrovandra. They are all members of this order because they exhibit free-central or basal or placentation. By looking at the tree, Drosera, Dionaea, and Aldrovandra are the close relatives to each other because of their characteristic trapping mechanism. Dionaea and Aldrovandra have the most advanced traps, therefore, they are the closest in relation of all other carnivorous plants.
(http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2007/knoblauc_kris/heritage.htm)
(http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2007/knoblauc_kris/heritage.htm)
Taxonomic Rank
Classification of Dionaea muscipula
Common Name: Venus Fly Trap
Domain -Eukarya: They are multicellular organisms containing membrane-bound organelles.
Kingdom - Plantae: All are photosynthetic and sexually reproducing with an alternation of generations between gametophyte and sporophyte
Phylum - Anthophyta: Flowers are produced by these organisms and double fertilization is a characteristic of reproduction.
Class - Magnoliopsida:They are dicots.
Order - Caryophyllales: They have free central or basal placentation
Family - Droseraceae: They are carnivorous plants that use traps to catch their prey.
Genus - Dionaea All have marginal spines that assist in catching their prey.
Species - Dionaea muscipula: This is a monotpical species.
Common Name: Venus Fly Trap
Domain -Eukarya: They are multicellular organisms containing membrane-bound organelles.
Kingdom - Plantae: All are photosynthetic and sexually reproducing with an alternation of generations between gametophyte and sporophyte
Phylum - Anthophyta: Flowers are produced by these organisms and double fertilization is a characteristic of reproduction.
Class - Magnoliopsida:They are dicots.
Order - Caryophyllales: They have free central or basal placentation
Family - Droseraceae: They are carnivorous plants that use traps to catch their prey.
Genus - Dionaea All have marginal spines that assist in catching their prey.
Species - Dionaea muscipula: This is a monotpical species.