The trap leaves get all the attention, but there's also a lot to appreciate in the showy white flowers of Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula). In our first image, pollen grains are clearly visible on the anthers, which are the club-like structures borne on filaments. (For scale, the flowers are about 0.7-inch across). Venus flytrap pollen grains are exceptionally large, and thus fairly easy to make out with just a little bit of magnification. The additional images from Elsa Youngsteadt and Clyde Sorensen are of pollinators that were found to be exceptionally important to Venus flytraps during a 2016 NC State University study in Pender County. Late May into June is a great time to see Venus flytrap flowers in the Croatan National Forest. Many thanks to Elsa for helpful comments and additional images.
Venus Flytrap Flowers
(Updated: Dec. 3, 2024, 10:09 a.m.)