Aldrovanda

/ˌæl.drə.ˈvæn.də/ noun

Definition

A carnivorous aquatic plant with snap-trap leaves similar to a Venus flytrap, native to tropical and subtropical regions.

Etymology

Named by Linnaeus after Ulisse Aldrovandi, a 16th-century Italian naturalist and physician. The genus was formally described in the 18th century when botanists classified carnivorous water plants.

Kelly Says

Aldrovanda is one of the rarest carnivorous plants in the world—it's technically extinct in the wild in many places but survives in botanical gardens! Its trap closes 10 times faster than a Venus flytrap because water resistance is less than air.

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