What is the scientific name of the Venus flytrap?

The scientific name of the Venus flytrap is Dionaea muscipula. It is the only species in the genus Dionaea, making the plant taxonomically distinctive even among famous carnivorous plants.

The genus name Dionaea means “daughter of Dione,” an epithet associated with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. The species name muscipula can be connected with Latin words for either “flytrap” or “mousetrap,” so the full name is often interpreted as “Dione’s trap” or “Aphrodite’s trap.”

English botanist John Ellis formally described the plant and proposed the name Dionaea muscipula in 1768. Earlier, North Carolina governor Arthur Dobbs had written about a sensitive plant that closed around anything touching it.

Dionaea muscipula is native to nutrient-poor wetlands in coastal North and South Carolina. Its snap traps supplement poor soil by obtaining nutrients, especially nitrogen, from insects and other small arthropods. Sarracenia, Nepenthes, and Drosera are different genera, despite also being carnivorous plants.