How a Venus Flytrap Snaps

Chris Gondek pastes in a few sentences: "A team of scientists led by a Harvard mathematician say they have solved one of the plant world's most intriguing mysteries: how the Venus flytrap snaps shut. Using a high-speed video camera and computer modelling, the team found that the flytrap employs an ingenious trick to slowly build up elastic pressure in its leaves, like the stretching of a rubber band, and then snap at the slightest provocation."

Comments

I'm kinda sad to hear this...

[museumpeace]

I used to imagine this was a plant with some way of mounting stimulus-response behavior akin to animals so I, complete biology nincompoop that I am, was expecting news of the discovery of an alternative to nerve tissue or some such thing. Now I hear its mostly a mechanical trap. I hate having to constantly re-learn that nature is more clever than I am!

Re:Hasn't this been known for decades?

[nocomment]

Sort of. They had a vague idea, but didn't know how it was able to move so quickly as they don't have muscles. With the high-speed camera and glow-in-the-dark paint they were able to watch the skin stretch and more fluid was pumped into the leaves. It's been compared to a tennis ball cut in half where you just have to bend it slightly and then it suddenly snaps the other way around.