The Venus Flytrap In North Carolina

Yesterday’s newspaper article about Venus Flytraps reminded me of how much I was fascinated by the plant as a child. I mean, what isn’t fascinating about a plant that eats flies? The article also piqued my interest on what resources the North Carolina Collection had on this carnivorous plant. In case you’re wondering, I’ll list them below.

Electric transients accompanying excitation in venus’ flytrap / by Edgar Darden. Thesis (M.A.)–University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1949.

Venus flytrap. [pamphlet by the Plant Conservation Program in our state document collection].

Carnivorous plants / by Nancy J. Nielsen. [Written for children.]


Aphrodite’s mousetrap : a biography of Venus’s flytrap with facsimiles of an original pamphlet and the manuscripts of John Ellis / E. Charles Nelson ; with a “Tipitwitchet” postscript by Daniel L. McKinley.

Coker, William Chambers. “The distribution of Venus’s fly trap (Dionaea Muscipula).” Found in Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society Journal. July 1928. Vol. 43, Nos. 3-4. NC Collection Call No. C506 E43 v. 43.

Roberts, Patricia Ruth and H. J. Oosting. “Responses of Venus fly trap (Dionaea muscipula) to factors involved in its endemism.” Found in Ecological Monographs. April 1958. Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 193-218. NC Collection Call No. C570.5 E19 v. 28.

Stuhlman, Otto and Edgar B. Darden. “The action potentials obtained from Venus’s flytrap.” Reprinted from Science. 5 May 1950. Vol. 111, No. 2888, pp. 491-492. NC Collection Call No. Cp583.37 S93a.

Stuhlman, Otto. “A physical analysis of the opening and closing movements of the lobes of Venus’ fly-trap.” Reprinted from Torrey Botanical Club. Bulletin. Jan., 1948. Vol. 75, No. 1, pp. 22-44. NC Collection Call No. Cp583.37 S93p.

Wood, Thomas Fanning. “Insectivorous plants of the Wilmington regions; read by Dr. Thos. F. Wood, chairman of the section on botany of the Historical and Scientific Society of Wilmington.” Found in At home and abroad. September 1882. Vol. 3, No. 6. NC Collection Call No. C050 A86 v. 3 no. 6.

Wood, Thomas Fanning. Interesting description of the Venus fly trap, an insectivorous or flesh eating plant, found near Wilmington, N.C. [n.p., n.d.] NC Collection Call No. Cp583.37 W87i.

Boatright, Mody D., Robert B. Downs, and John T. Flanagan. The Family saga and other phases of American folklore. Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 1958. NC Collection Call No. C398 D75f. [Contains a story titled, “Uncle Heber’s Flytrap,” which was recorded in eastern North Carolina.]

North Carolina Collection Clippings Files, Pre-1975
SUBJECT: Venus Fly-trap
CALL NO.: CR917 N87
REEL NO.: 44
VOL. NO.: 174
PAGE(S): 387-400

North Carolina Collection Clippings Files, 1976-1989
SUBJECT: Venus Fly Trap
CALL NO.: CR917 N87 1976-89
REEL NO.: 19
VOL. NO.: 75
PAGE(S): 678-684

Where the Heel?, Part XI

I know that you’ve been waiting for it, so here it is: the 4th slogan-based “Where the Heel?” Take a look at the image below. The name of the location has been removed, but do you know where the “Crossroads of Tomorrow” is (or was) located? I think that a number of North Carolina locations have a legitimate claim to the title, but only one published this particular version of the slogan. As always, please leave your guesses as comments and good luck!