How the Venus flytrap snaps
Open accessAbstract
The rapid closure of the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) leaf in about 100 ms is one of the fastest movements in the plant kingdom. This led Darwin to describe the plant as "one of the most wonderful in the world". The trap closure is initiated by the mechanical stimulation of trigger hairs. Previous studies have focused on the biochemical response of the trigger hairs to stimuli and quantified the propagation of action potentials in the leaves. Here we complement these studies by considering the post-stimulation mechanical aspects of Venus flytrap closure. Using high-speed video imaging, non-invasive microscopy techniques and a simple theoretical model, we show that the fast closure of the trap results from a snap-buckling instability, the onset of which is controlled actively by the plant. Our study identifies an ingenious solution to scaling up movements in non-muscular engines and provides a general framework for understanding nastic motion in plants.
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A Venus flytrap leaf preloads its trap and then snaps it at a 100 ms timescale via a buckling instability.
“For instance, a Venus flytrap leaf preloads its trap and then snaps it at a 100 ms timescale via a buckling instability92.”
From Membrane compression by synaptic vesicle exocytosis triggers ultrafast endocytosis (2023) · cites this paper as [92]
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- Authors
- Forterre, Y., Skotheim, J. M., Dumais, J., & Mahadevan, L.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Mahadevan, L.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2005-01
- Volume
- 433
- Issue
- 7024
- Pages
- 421-425
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W2012458690
- Cited by
- 1,093
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 65 · 2025: 82 · 2024: 86 · 2023: 87 · 2022: 79 · 2021: 88 · 2020: 77 · 2019: 74 · 2018: 68 · 2017: 42 · 2016: 42 · 2015: 44 · 2014: 53 · 2013: 42 · 2012: 33
- FWCI
- 20.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- nrs.harvard.edu
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- HAL AMU (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Royal Society
- Norges Forskningsråd
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Plant and Biological Electrophysiology Studies
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Advanced Materials and Mechanics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Soft Robotics and Applications
- Keywords
- Venus flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, trap closure, elastic energy storage, plant mechanics, trigger hairs, plant movement
- MeSH terms
- Biomechanical Phenomena, Motion, Time Factors, Video Recording, Plant Leaves, Droseraceae
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