TARHEEL TRIVIA: Insectivorous Plant

Eons ago, a friend and I sat for a brief time in a theater watching Little Shop of Horrors. It’s not the sort of movie I gravitate toward but we’d already walked out on The Name of the Rose and Three Amigos. (Clearly it was a bad day at the movies.)

We endured the little shop for only a short while because I have no patience for stories about plants that devour human beings.

I was familiar with carnivorous plants, having grown up in North Carolina, home of the Venus Fly Trap. Of course, it was mostly head knowledge learned in social studies class but a plant that "eats" insects is one of those facts that sticks with a 7th grader.

I’ve seen Venus Fly Traps - but never growing in the wild. Perhaps that’s because their natural habitat is strictly within a 100 mile radius of Wilmington, North Carolina. They live in the boggy savannahs of the Carolinas which I typically pass on my way to the beach.

A few facts:

• Venus Fly Trap has stiff sensitive hairs on its leaves
• When an insect bends the hairs, the lobes of the leaf snap together, trapping it inside
• The leaves excrete digestive juices which break down and utilize the softer inner parts of the insect.
• When the digestive process is finished the plant opens and the ecoskeleton blows away.
• The plant grows best in poor soil and thrives on the nutrients provided by insects.
• The Venus Flytrap was discovered in 1763 by Arthur Dobbs, governor of North Carolina.

For pictures and much more info, visit this site.

For a video visit to a flytrap in its natural habitat click here. (Unless, of course, you'd rather not see the hard facts of the food chain in action. But it's a David Attenborough, BBC wildlife video that is more science than drama.)

TARHEEL TRIVIA: Where'd we get that name?

I’m starting a new feature here on my blog. Think I’ll call it Tarheel Trivia. Whenever you see that title, get ready to learn something about my home state!

Fortunately, I have the assistance of my 7th grade Social Studies book! Well actually, I turned that copy in at the end of the school year. Since then, my sister, Jeannie found this one at a yard sale and loaned it to me! I'll start with the term “Tarheels”. (In case you've wondered where the 2009 Basketball Champions got their name?)

It’s like this...

Once upon a time, North Carolina had huge forests of longleaf pines. The pine trees produced sap which could be used to produce turpentine, pitch, rosin, and tar. Making and selling these products for shipbuilding industries was our main industry. (Just ask Mr. Tarheel)

Of course you can’t make tar without stepping in it occasionally. ICK!

Hence our name. North Carolinians have been called tarheels at least since the time of the Civil War. It's that simple. Although, if you're more inclined toward a legendary explanation, Answers.com will be happy to oblige!

A few related things:

• The long leaf pine is our state tree.
• A few North Carolina towns which reflect the long leaf pine influence are Pinehurst, and Pineville, Tarboro, and Southern Pines.
• We even have a Tar River.

Thankfully, the Tar River is made of water!