The rest of the forms can be broadly categorised in colour and trap mutants. Coloured forms either have especially red trap interiors, or red colour throughout the entire plant. Such colour is difficult to obtain in cultivation due to the high light requirements. Examples of fully red plants are D. muscipula 'Royal Red' and D. muscipula 'Akai Ryu'. There is also an all-green form of D. muscipula, which lacks red pigment totally.

Trap mutants, such as D. muscipula 'Sawtooth' or D. muscipula 'Dentate' amongst others, have traps that differ to the typical form. Usually, the difference is in the spines at the end of the lobes appearing webbed. Some growers have reported dual traps - where two traps are formed on the end of a single petiole - but these are thought to be down to environmental conditions as opposed to plant characteristics as this dual trap phenomenon is generally not repeatable season to season. There has also been some talk of an albino VFT, ghostly white in colour, but it is likely the plant in question was very sick or the photograph itself had been edited.

In the Wild: VFTs are very limited in numbers in the wild, with their native populations in North and South Carolina rapidly being drained for development. However, the plant is very common in cultivation thanks to tissue culture, which is starting to introduce some of the rarer forms to a wider population also. VFTs are listed in Appendix II of CITES, meaning they are under the possibility of future extinction. As such, it is illegal to take plants from the wild and export them to other countries. All VFTs for sale internationally must have the appropriate paperwork to accompany them, proving they were commercially raised. This is in additional to the phytosanitary certificates required in the export and import of most live plant material. However, if you buy a VFT from someone in the UK and you live in the UK no paperwork is normally needed. This is the same with VFTs on sale in garden centres. Incidentally, if you see VFTs for sale in garden centres with the sign asking you not to trigger the traps artificially, please observe this. On the whole, mainstream garden centres give the plants enough to worry about without fingers or sticks being poked at them!

In Cultivation: Caring for VFTs in cultivation is not too difficult, and they require no major difference to general CP care. In the UK, most windowsills receiving a fair degree of light will suitable for their growth. A common VFT soil mixture is 1 part sphagnum moss peat to 1 part sand, and they can be grown on the tray system - taking care to ensure the water is suitable. VFTs require at least three months of cool dormancy, and will tolerate light frosts. Once tip for healthy VFTs is to cut away any flower scape once it is around 2cm (approximately 1 inch) high - the flowers are not very impressive, and the plant can be weakened by flowering. Obviously if you require VFT seeds from your plants, you'll need to leave the plant to flower.

For more plant information check out Rick Walker's CP Database