Plants your kids can get excited about

Carnivorous plants may be grisly but they are also fascinating, beautiful, quite easy to grow and provide a great way of introducing children to the wonderful world of plants.

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I'M YOUR VENUS: Intriguing flytrap

CARNIVOROUS plants exert a fascination, particularly to children. The idea that a plant can gobble up an insect is gruesome and intriguing, and the best known of these is the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula).

If an insect or spider is detected, it opens its serrated jaws, (well, leaves really), and traps the prey inside. The method of digestion is also quite gory - it's a slow death for the victim who is slowly broken down by degradative enzymes over a period of a week or so. Once fully digested, the leaves open and the husk of the insect is ejected.