Naturalists are requesting the Venus fly trap to be South Carolina’s official carnivorous plant. They believe that declaring the Venus fly trap as the state’s official plant will protect and increase awareness about the unique species.
Plant lovers might be hard-pressed to find it anywhere else in the world since it’s only available in the upper part of the South Carolina coast and a small sliver of southeast North Carolina.
“This is a plant for South Carolina to be proud of. It is globally rare,” Coastal Conservation League biologist Trapper Fowler told senators.
Named after the Roman goddess of love, the Venus fly trap can trap insects to get a source of nutrition. Venus fly traps are only interested in spiders and flies so they won’t harm anything other than that.
Politicians are enchanted by the plant and determined to give it the recognition it deserves.
“In a state as small as ours that is growing every day, we have to protect the things that belong here,” said South Carolina Senator Thomas McElveen, who led a subcommittee that voted to progress a bill to increase the status of the plant.
McElveen recalled his childhood when his mom purchased the plant for him and he called it “Audrey II” after the Venus fly trap in Little Shop of Horrors.
According to McElveen, this bill could be a step in the right direction. “You’re not just naming this plant and putting it in the back of our legislative manual,” McElveen said. “You may be doing something to raise awareness and conservation.”
It’s still up in the air whether this fly trap plant can secure state recognition along with the insects. Venus has to win the hearts of the Senate Family and Veterans Affairs Committee and then obtain approval on the Senate floor before heading to the House.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/venus-fly-trap-south-carolina-official-85fd4bacabdc67cc5ce292c09ea8d347