This Venus Flytrap Just Broke a World Record

Jeremiah Harris of the United States recently set a world record for the largest trap on a Venus flytrap. The record-breaking trap grown on his plant measured 2.6 inches wide, surpassing two previous records he had set himself.

For comparison, according to Guinness World Records, most Venus flytrap traps grow to around 0.8 to 1.2 inches wide. Harris’ specimen is therefore considerably larger than what is typically seen in the species.

What makes his achievement even more remarkable is that Harris has not simply broken the record once. He has repeatedly managed to grow increasingly large traps, setting and then surpassing his own records. His success with carnivorous plants extends beyond size records, too. He has previously sold one of his rare plants for thousands of dollars.

How Is a Venus Flytrap Measured?

Guinness World Records noted that while breaking a record once might be attributed to extraordinary luck, repeatedly improving on the same achievement makes it much harder to put the result down to chance.

For Harris, carnivorous plants are far more than a passing hobby. He says he has been fascinated by them since childhood, and in 2003, he founded the Colorado Carnivorous Plant Society, an organization dedicated to carnivorous plants. He now serves as its president.

In his backyard, Harris maintains tropical greenhouses filled with a wide variety of carnivorous plants. According to Guinness, his collection is one of the largest collections of living carnivorous plants in the United States.

To establish the record, the trap was measured across the midrib, the hinge at the back of the trap where its two lobes meet and open and close. The record-breaking trap belongs to a variety known as GJ Montecore and measured 2.6 inches across.

He Once Sold a Carnivorous Plant for $4,500

Photos released alongside the record announcement highlight just how unusual the plant is. In one image, a playing card is placed beside the trap for scale. Another shows Harris holding the plant alongside his record certificate.

The giant Venus flytrap is not Harris’ only achievement in the world of carnivorous plants. He previously held a Guinness record for the most expensive carnivorous plant ever sold.

That plant was a hybrid from the Nepenthes genus known as “Leviathan.” In July 2019, it was sold to an anonymous buyer for $4,500.

Still, Venus flytraps have brought Harris some of his most notable record-breaking achievements. Time after time, he has managed to grow an even larger trap, repeatedly earning a place in the record books with one of nature’s strangest and most fascinating plants.