Venus Flytraps Thrive in Wilmington’s Beach Park

Who says a trip to the beach can’t be educational? The grounds of the Carolina Beach Park is a learning experience for all. The park was established in 1969 and one would never guess that it is 761 acres with 13 different plant communities. From marshy swamps, to tall pines, a myriad of wildlife also live inside the park.

The area thrives on 51 inches of rainfall throughout the year. The trails are well worn and kept thanks to the half a million visitors that stop at the park annually. Many come to visit the park’s habitat of insect loving plants, the Venus Flytrap. 

Guided tours take place each Saturday around 10a.m., and you don’t want to miss the knowledgeable information that the forestry experts. On our tour Carla Edwards, has served as a Park Ranger for 20 years and in Wilmington for five years as the Lead Education Ranger. Accompanying her on the tour was John Helms, Assistant Park Ranger, in the Recreation Sport Leadership and Tourism Management program at UNCW. The both of them educated me on the different flora, fauna and terrain inside the park.

Take a stroll through the Flytrap Trail is a half-mile loop through the Pocosin, Savanna, Longleaf Pine and Turkey Oak tree communities. In this area there is a great diversity of plant life. The parks acid mineral ash-poor soil is home to several carnivorous plants to include yellow Pitcher Plants, Bladderworts, Sundews and Butterworts. But the most unusual and star of the forest is the Venus Flytrap.

Inside the Venus Flytrap there are three trigger hairs on each side, making it six total. The trap closes if the insect touches two trigger hairs or the same one twice in a short amount of time. The plants will digest their food in three to five days. The largest clump in the park has around 500 plants on it.

This rare plant only grows naturally within 75 miles of Wilmington. Its flowering season is late May through early June.

If you look closely you might see a great horned owl, with pointy ears and yellow eyes, perched high up in the trees, keeping a watch on the habitat of plant and animal life within the park. Coral snakes have been seen on the grounds, but they tend to stay hidden.

Warning: don’t try to dig up one of the small plants to take home to propagate, it’s a crime. Not to mention, they really only sell for $.25 each, so one would have to dig up thousands to make any real money.