TrapThe blade of the leaf. Its two halves snap shut on an insect.
Leaf stalk (petiole)A flat, winged stalk. It is green and makes food from light.
FlowerWhite, with five petals. The flowers open in a cluster.
Flower stalkA tall leafless stalk. It holds the flowers high above the traps.
RhizomeA short, bulb-like underground stem. The leaves grow from it.
RootsA few small roots. They take in water.
One trap, open 5
LobeOne of the two halves of the trap. They close like a book.
MidribThe rib down the middle. The two lobes hinge on it.
Teeth (cilia)Stiff bristles along the edge. They lock together when the trap shuts.
Trigger hairsThree stand on each lobe. Touching them sets off the trap.
Digestive glandsTiny glands on the inner face. They digest the insect and take in the food.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-03 and kept only where two of these use it. (1) Charles Darwin, Insectivorous Plants, 1875, chapter XIII, Dionaea muscipula (public domain), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5765 : the roots are small, springing from a bulbous enlargement; the bilobed leaf with its foliaceous footstalk; three minute pointed filaments on the upper surface of each lobe, extremely sensitive to a touch; the margins prolonged into sharp rigid spikes that inter-lock like the teeth of a rat-trap; the midrib strongly developed; the upper surface thickly covered, except toward the margins, with minute glands that secrete and absorb. (2) Flora of North America vol. 6, Dionaea, read at efloras.org, http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=110284 : scapes from bulblike rhizomes wrapped in fleshy petiole bases; roots adventitious, white, unbranched; petiole winged; blade of 2 hinged lobes, margins stoutly bristled, hinged along the midrib, with 3 trigger hairs on each upper surface; petals white. (3) North Carolina State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Dionaea muscipula, https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/dionaea-muscipula/ : native to coastal North Carolina and a small area of South Carolina; a low basal rosette of leaves; the trap at the end of each leaf, folded in 2 hinged lobes, the edges bristly; six tactile hairs, any two of which shut the trap; digestive enzymes; white flowers atop a leafless stalk (scape), each with 5 petals. (4) Wikipedia, text only, Venus flytrap, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_flytrap : a rosette of leaves from a short bulb-like subterranean stem; a flat petiole and two terminal lobes hinged at the midrib, which form the trap; three trigger hairs on each lobe; two touches in quick succession close the trap; the edges fringed by cilia that mesh together; digestive glands inside the trap; a flower atop a long stem. (5) F. E. Lloyd, The Carnivorous Plants, 1942, chapter XII, Dionaea, full text read, https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.206006 : a rosette of leaves arising from a rootstock; in the seedling there arises at once a rhizome bearing small leaves; long scapes with white petals; the leaf a basal footstalk and a blade which is a trap; two lobes united along the middle line by a thick midrib; the outer margins ciliated, with a row of coarse projections, prongs or teeth; the cilia intercross to form a barred cage; six slender sensitive hairs, the trigger hairs; the digestive glands. Rhizome stands on (2) and (5), and cilia on (4) and (5); Darwin and Wikipedia call the same stem a bulbous enlargement and a bulb-like object. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry; own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
This Venus fly trap diagram with labels shows the plant twice. The first drawing is the whole plant, a small rosette of leaves around a tall flower stalk. The second is one trap, open.
Read the full guide
A leaf in two parts
The leaves grow in a rosette from a short, bulb-like rhizome. Each leaf has a flat, winged leaf stalk and, at its end, the trap. The trap is the blade of the leaf: two lobes hinged along the midrib.
How the trap works
Three trigger hairs stand on each lobe. Two touches in quick succession make the lobes snap shut. The teeth along the edges lock together so a large insect cannot get out, and glands on the inner face digest it.
The quiz takes cilia or bristles for the teeth, and hinge for the midrib.
The flowers stand on a tall stalk, well above the traps.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a Venus flytrap?
Roots, a short bulb-like rhizome, and a rosette of leaves. Each leaf is a flat leaf stalk with a trap at its end. The trap has two lobes, a midrib, teeth, trigger hairs and digestive glands. White flowers grow on a tall stalk.
What are the hairs inside a Venus flytrap called?
Trigger hairs, also called sensitive hairs. Three stand on the inner face of each lobe, six to a trap. Touching them is what makes the trap close.
Is the trap of a Venus flytrap a leaf or a flower?
A leaf. The trap is the blade of the leaf, split into two lobes, and the flat part below it is the leaf stalk. The flowers are separate: small and white, on a tall bare stalk.
What are the teeth on a Venus flytrap for?
They are stiff bristles, also called cilia, along the edge of each lobe. When the trap shuts they lock together like the bars of a cage, so a large insect cannot climb out.