The Venus Flytrap Unplugged: How a Plant Counts, Catches, and Feeds

05/10/2025 6 min
The Venus Flytrap Unplugged: How a Plant Counts, Catches, and Feeds

Listen "The Venus Flytrap Unplugged: How a Plant Counts, Catches, and Feeds"

Episode Synopsis

A deep-dive into the Venus flytrap’s bioelectric engine: a 0.1-second snap driven by action potentials, a two-trigger rule to avoid false alarms, and a counting mechanism that gates digestion. Learn how endocytotic uptake and jasmonic acid signals, repurposed from plant defense, fuel rapid digestion, while sodium helps maintain turgor. We’ll explore the evolutionary reuse of existing pathways, and why this remarkable carnivore is endangered in the wild.Note: This podcast was AI-generated, and sometimes AI can make mistakes. Please double-check any critical information. Sponsored by Embersilk LLC