Should be the Smartest Plant in the Swamp

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One of the things that makes me believe in the gradual process of evolution is the Venus flytrap. You're looking at a plant that has perfectly learned to adapt and survive in the wild. I actually thought the Venus flytrap was a flower, but it's actually a modified leaf with the flowers growing up on the stalk to keep from accidentally trapping and eating its own pollinators. That's a smart plant.

They only grow in parts of North South Carolina where the soil is worth almost nothing. So the flytrap eats insects that fly by as a way to get its nutrients since the earth isn't giving them any.

The way the trap actually works is with these tiny little hairs. An insect has to touch two of the hairs in quick succession for the trap to snap shut. The whole thing happens in less than a second. But there is something that surprised me. Apparently the plant can count.

If the bug keeps moving around and continues to hit hairs after initially capturing it, the flytrap knows it captured something, and starts to digest it, which takes several days. Maybe it's not really counting but just sensing continued motion. Either way, it's doing basic math in order to survive.

A plant using logic in this way is very impressive. We think of plants as not being able to measure or make decisions, but this one does both and at the same time.

Today, there are people that keep them as houseplants, which is odd considering where they evolved to be. But if ever got the chance to watch one up close, it will be really cool.

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