The biting plants can close their trap in as little as a tenth of a second and exert a force comparable to that of a bear trap . The mechanism is activated when the victim touches a sensory hair on the plant twice – or two different hairs – in less than 20 seconds; This way you avoid biting into inert objects. If the victim is very slow, the prey mechanism trips after detecting several touches.
After the double contact, an electrical potential is generated in the sensitive cells of the plant. This signal elicits two mechanical responses. On the one hand, the energy stored in elastic molecules is released, and on the other, some cells swell with water. This set of reactions produces the abrupt movement responsible for the effective vegetable bites.
