Herself's Houseplants

. . . One of nature’s most recognized wonders, the venus flytrap’s ability to snatch living prey makes it a favorite of elementary school science classes everywhere. Yet the flytrap is falsely ferocious: It’s hardly the man-eating Audrey Jr. from “The Little Shop of Horrors,” but a tiny plant only a few inches tall with leaves no bigger than a thumbprint.

These days, the little plant is more vulnerable than ever. And despite its popularity, the people who could protect it seem focused on other problems.

The flytrap’s natural habitat exists only within a hundred miles of the Carolinas’ coast, where much larger and more territorial plants have always held forth. Booming growth and development along the coast threatens to overrun the few sensitive and thin populations of venus flytraps that still exist in the wild. . . [ read more Venus flytraps caught in shrinking habitat]

What can you do? Fight to save native habitats. Buy some fly traps from responsible sellers and show people just was a cool wonderful plant it is. Tell them why it is worth saving. Spread the word.

See also:
Save the Venus Flytrap
Audubon Magazine: Carnivorous Plants
United Plant Savers: Venus Flytrap

As the world gets more urban and more of us move to cities the plant life of cities has a bigger impact on us all. The diversity of conditions in the city as opposed to the countryside gives us a larger selection of plants in the city. But the plants that can handle the urban environment tend to be very similar to each other. This means changes in climate and other city conditions may have a far greater detrimental impact on urban plants.

More plant species grow in German towns and cities than in the countryside, but those in towns and cities are more closely related and are often functionally similar. This makes urban ecosystems more susceptible to environmental impacts. . .. [ read more Similarity Of Urban Flora: Plants In Towns And Cities Are More Closely Related Than Those In The Countryside]