I understand their normal conditions are in poor soil, which is why the flytrap, but why would good soil outright kill them instead of them ignoring it or maybe just doing slightly better?
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I have never heard of good soil killing them, only that the fascinating bit about the Venus Flytrap is an adaptation used for nitrogen-poor environments so putting them in nitrogen-rich soil will lead to them not producing the bug-catching parts
The same reason you would die from too much vitamin A ingestion. They evolved in poor nutrient soil in Virginia marshlands and evolved to supplement this w catching insects. If you get too much of a good thing it is as bad as a lack of it. All life is on a J or U shaped curve and needs to hit whatever niche it evolved to hit or deleterious things happen to the organism.
Being in a “good” soil wont kill the plant. However being in a soil that has too much of something can cause the plant to suffer from getting too much of that something.
For example, Vitamin A is good for you. But if you eat too much Vitamin A you will die. Having some ammonia is good for the plant, but if you place the plant in a literal can of ammonia, it will die. Its all about balance. If you place Venus Fly trap (or any other plant) into soil that has too much of something that VFT cant handle, it might die.
Their roots are specialized to a certain range of nutrients. Outside of that range, their ability to uptake those nutrients is hampered, and other issues may arise. It’s similar to how drinking some salts is good for you, but your liver can’t process seawater.
Evolution.
“Good” is based on the needs of the organism. There can be things in “good” soil that are toxic to venus flytraps. Just like “good” water will kill fish if it’s the wrong type of water (i.e. salt water fish in “good” drinking water. Dead)
It’s not about “good soil” or “bad soil”. It’s about “Does this soil have the correct chemical composition for this plant to survive and thrive”?
Some soil that we would typical describe as “bad” just happens to have the right nutrients and chemicals (and in the right amounts) to support a Venus Flytrap. Most soil we would describe as “good” simply does not.
Does good soil (soil Hugh in nitrates) actually kill them or do other plants adapted for better soil crowd them out very quickly?
I have been cloning and breeding fly traps for almost 5 years now. The “good soil” causing harm, is pretty much a myth. A Venus fly trap would never have to catch an insect and digest it to remain healthy, but it always will close and eat whatever it can.
All it needs is soil and light. The only real difference I have found is that plants in poor soil are usually red, and the ones that are green are in a healthy plant environment, receiving their nutrients from photosynthesis.
If they put up a pistil, they are healthy.
Flytraps are particularly adapted to *waterlogged* soils in North Carolina bogs. Their roots can handle extremely wet feet — which will quickly lead to rot in many other plants. However, their roots can die from fertilizer burn at much lower concentrations than plants adapted to more conventionally nutrient-rich soils; those plants will croak all the same if there’s too much fertilizer applied to their rhizosphere, as the buildup of mineral salts alters soil pH and can result in unsustainable growth. In general too high of nutrient concentration affects the roots’ abilities to take up water — salt attracts moisture and can keep the roots from uptaking it.
Some carnivorous plants can adapt to levels of sosoils in North Carolina bogs. Their roots can handle extremely wet feet — which will quickly lead to rot in many other plants. However, their roots can die from fertilizer burn at much lower concentrations than plants adapted to more conventionally nutrient rich soils; those plants will croak all the same if there’s too much fertilizer applied to their rhizosphere, as the buildup of mineral salts alters soil pH and can result in unsustainable growth.
I’m not entirely sure it kills them, but I do know that growing in good soil means you wont see them grow the ‘flytraps’. They just come out with normal leaves. (I may be cobfusing this with pitcher plants)
Basically carnivorous resort to being carnivores because rheir soil is nutrient poor. They supplement the poor nutrients with insect prey. But the insect catching bits are highly specialised and use a lot of resources, so the plant tries not to grow them unless really necessary
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