Venus's-flytrap, insectivorous or carnivorous bog plant (Dionaea muscipula) native to the Carolina savannas and now widely cultivated as a novelty. The leaves, borne in a low rosette, resemble bear traps. They are hinged at the midrib, each half bearing sensitive bristles; when a bristle is touched—as by an insect—the halves snap shut and the marginal teeth interlock to imprison the insect until it has been digested. The other members of the same family, the sundews (genus Drosera), found in bogs, swamps, and other moist areas worldwide, and the free-floating waterwheel (Aldrovanda vesiculosa), native to Old World aquatic environments but now also found in parts of North America, are also carnivorous. Venus's-flytrap is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Nepenthalesniales, family Droseraceae.
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