Dionaea muscipula 'Cross Tooth Freak' – Venus Flytrap

Dionaea muscipula ‘Cross Tooth Freak’ is an unusual Venus Flytrap clone known for its irregular marginal teeth. The teeth may cross over one another, twist in different directions, fuse together or develop unevenly around the trap margins.

Clone Characteristics

• Trap form: Small to medium-sized traps retaining a broadly recognisable Venus Flytrap shape.
• Marginal teeth: Highly variable and potentially crossed, twisted, fused, asymmetrical or unevenly spaced.
• Colour: Generally green to lightly blushed, with red pigmentation developing inside the traps under strong light.
• Growth habit: A steady-growing, rosette-forming clone that can produce both relatively normal and strongly distorted traps.
• Seasonal expression: Tooth development varies considerably between individual traps. Not every trap will display the clone’s most extreme characteristics.

Seasonal Appearance

Venus Flytraps change considerably throughout the year. During active growth, ‘Cross Tooth Freak’ produces fresh leaves and normally displays its clearest tooth development. Young or recently divided plants may require time to produce the more strongly distorted traps associated with mature growth.

During winter dormancy, growth becomes more compact and the plant may have smaller traps, fewer active leaves and some blackening of older growth. This seasonal dieback is normal. The living plant remains below and around the growing point and resumes stronger growth as conditions warm in spring.

Trap size, colour and tooth development vary with maturity, light, temperature and the season. The plant supplied may therefore look different from the photographs depending on the time of year.

Care

• Light: Grow outdoors in a sunny position. Strong light supports compact growth, healthy trap development and stronger interior colour.
• Water: Use rainwater, distilled water or reverse osmosis water. Do not use ordinary tap water unless it is known to contain very low levels of dissolved minerals.
• Watering method: During active growth, stand the pot in a shallow tray of suitable water and do not allow the growing medium to dry out. Reduce the water level during winter dormancy, but keep the medium damp.
• Growing medium: Use a nutrient-poor carnivorous plant mix, such as sphagnum peat combined with perlite or silica sand. Do not use ordinary potting mix.
• Feeding: Plants grown outdoors will normally catch enough insects without assistance. Do not apply standard plant fertilisers or repeatedly trigger the traps.
• Dormancy: Venus Flytraps are temperate plants with a natural winter resting period. Protect potted plants from severe or prolonged freezing conditions.

What You Will Receive

You will receive one established plant growing in a 70mm pot. Images show ‘Cross Tooth Freak’ during one or more stages of growth and are representative of the plants available. Individual plants will vary significantly in trap number, colour, tooth development and seasonal appearance.

Please note that the irregular growth of this clone is naturally unpredictable. Plants may carry a mixture of relatively normal and strongly distorted traps at the same time.