What is so sinister about the tipitiwitchet?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

October 31, 2001

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The tipitiwitchet (Dionaea muscipula Ellis) is an outlandish plant native to the Carolinas. It is a diminutive marvel; a plant that waits for prey, then closes on a meal. Tipitiwitchets inhabit boggy places with peculiar names like pocosins or Carolina bays.

The tipitiwitchet's leaves are highly specialized. Unlike the sensitive briar which collapses in response to a stimulus, the blade of the tipitiwitchet folds. Both are considered thigmonastic movement, but the tipitiwitchet's motion seems sinister and premeditated. (See Weird Plants, October 25, 2001)

Plant of the Week 10/28/2002

Tipitiwitchet (Dionaea muscipula J. Ellis)
Plant of the Week 10/28/2002

On each face of the leaf blade are two or three trichomes (trigger hairs). When an insect of sufficient size brushes a trigger, the leaf is primed to close. When any of the triggers are touched again, the blade folds with the spines intermeshing. If there is no further movement from the trapped object, the leaf stops closing and begins resetting itself. A struggle from the prey is necessary to continue the process. The blade changes shape until the spines are pointing outward and the edges of the leaf seal together.

The tipitiwitchet leaf carries on photosynthesis, manufactures nectar to attract insects, traps the prey, manufactures digestive enzymes, and absorbs the nutrients. The plant is very specific. The nectar it makes does not attract butterflies and the enzymes only act on insect proteins. Animal flesh decays and kills the leaves.

It is thought the sequence of events is a cascade of biochemical and mechanical reactions. The energy for the trapping comes from adenosine triphosphate (ATP) made during photosynthesis. Triggered leaves show a marked decrease of ATP. Plants subjected to artificial triggering decline and eventually die.

Tipitiwitchets are perennials and much more than curiosity plants. They are that oddity that makes life interesting. Unfortunately, the wild plants stand close to extinction because of pollution and loss of habitat. If they should all disappear will anyone in the future believe they ever existed?

The Library at the University of Chicago contains historical environmental photographs. To view a photograph of a tipitiwitchet in its habitat taken circa 1900, click on the link:

http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/aep/nc/aep-ncs12.jpg

The Carolina bays are an unusual collection of geological formations across the southeastern U.S. George Howard has put together a comprehensive study of the bays. To learn more, click on the link:

http://www.georgehoward.net/cbays.htm

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