These 4 Speedy Plants Move Faster Than We Can See with the Naked Eye - Science in the News

Venus flytrap     Photo Credit: Beatrice Murch/Wikimedia Commons

By Amber Bennett

When you think about plants moving, you likely think of the phrase "like watching the grass grow." Although the motion of plants growing is rather slow, some plants can move faster than we can see with the naked eye.

Venus Flytrap

When you think of a fast-moving plant, you likely picture the Venus flytrap. The flytrap's leaves can snap together within a tenth of a second to capture food.

Bunchberry Dogwood

The stamens of the bunchberry dogwood flip outward at a force of 2,400 g's to spread pollen in the wind. That's an acceleration of 2,400 times the earth's gravity! For comparison's sake, a fighter pilot can take only about 9 g's before passing out.

Science News/YouTube

Bladderworts

Some aquatic varieties of bladderworts have underwater sacs on their stalks to capture mosquito larva and other prey. They can capture their prey in around a thousandth of a second!

American Dwarf Mistletoe

This parasitic plant grows on branches of pine trees on the West Coast of the United States. It can shoot its seeds at a rate of 20 m/s (65 fps).

American Dwarf Mistletoe      Photo Credit: J. Schmidt/National Park Service

Want to Learn More?

For more info on these four plants and a few others, check out this article in Science News.