This rare plant only grows in the Carolinas. How we can help protect it. | Opinion
An iconic plant found in the Carolinas — and nowhere else in the world — needs our help.
This summer the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided that the Venus flytrap doesn’t warrant placement on the federal Endangered or Threatened species list. The Nature Conservancy, which protects and manages some of the finest populations of this amazing plant, agrees with that decision. But the future of Venus flytraps is heavily dependent on the choices Carolinians make today.
Venus flytraps have always had a small native range – an area approximately 90 miles around Wilmington, N.C., in southeastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina.
We misuse the word awesome a lot. But it is an apt description for Venus flytraps. Charles Darwin, who wasn’t prone to hyperbole, once described the Venus flytrap as “one of the most wonderful plants in the world.”
Its ability to capture and eat insects has made it a fan favorite. Visit a botanical garden anywhere in the world and you’ll find flytraps. I have often done so, making an absolute fool of myself telling other visitors that flytraps come from the Carolinas and nowhere else.
The flytrap has inspired others in a way that no other plant can. Think Audrey in “Little Shop of Horrors.”
We flytrap obsessives are a funny lot — going to great lengths for the flytrap experience. I took my first job out of college to be near The Nature Conservancy’s Green Swamp Preserve in Brunswick County, southeast of Wilmington. It’s home to one of the largest and healthiest flytrap populations.
At the Nature Conservancy I’ve helped enthusiasts from Tokyo to Tasmania navigate the wilds of southeastern North Carolina to visit flytraps in person.
In making its decision, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service noted that the flytrap isn’t in imminent danger of extinction. Some of the healthiest populations of this plant are very well managed and protected at Camp Lejeune, Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg), and the Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point. The military has done an admirable job with flytraps ensuring that fire occurs regularly in the longleaf pine savannas that are home to Venus flytraps.
Venus flytraps thrive after fire, which removes competing vegetation. That’s why The Conservancy and other organizations work tirelessly, setting controlled burns, following the tradition of Indigenous People who likely saw the wonder that fire wrought after a lightning strike and began putting regular fire in the forest thousands of years ago.
Venus flytraps need this disturbance to continue to thrive. The Conservancy has also protected thousands of acres of prime flytrap habitat, including several thousand acres last year in fast-growing Onslow County, home to a recently discovered flytrap population.
In places like Brunswick County, there are likely many flytraps growing in backyards unbeknownst to property owners. Venus Flytrap Champions is working to raise awareness and encourage landowners to restore and manage these natural treasures.
Listing under the Endangered Species Act is a valuable tool in the conservation toolbox, but in this case such a listing might have slowed flytrap restoration efforts and diverted resources from species with more critical needs. One benefit of the process was that it spurred new surveys that helped to document that Venus flytraps are more numerous than previously thought.
To keep flytraps off future iterations of the Endangered or Threatened species list and ensure that they thrive on public and private lands, we all need to be aware of this special plant’s very specific needs, particularly where fire is concerned. When you hear about a controlled burn planned for flytrap country — know that we are doing that in part to ensure that Darwin’s “most wonderful plant” can continue to thrill its beholders.
A friend of mine once called Venus flytraps a “gateway plant.” Any child who sees one is entranced and wants to learn more about them and the world around them. I still remember the day more than 50 years ago when I first laid eyes on a Venus flytrap. That moment helped to shape my life and career. Tomorrow’s children should have that same opportunity.
Debbie Crane has been the North Carolina Chapter of The Nature Conservancy’s Communication Director since 2008.
