1. World Wildlife Magazine
  2. Fall 2020

Tropical pitcher plants are beautiful but deadly

Millions of years ago, some photosynthetic plants underwent an incredible adaptation: They evolved the ability to eat meat. (Darwin called it “carnivorous syndrome.”) But while the appetites of most flesh-eating plants, such as Venus flytraps, lean mainly toward small insects, tropical pitcher plants have much more surprising diets, all uniquely adapted to their environments.

NOT VEGAN

Tropical pitcher plants, so called because of their hanging vase-shaped leaves, grow in places with nutrient-deficient soils. To survive, these plants evolved special mechanisms that allow them to entice, capture, and digest insects and other prey that give them the nitrogen and phosphorous they need to grow.

© MICHAEL DURHAM/MINDEN PICTURES Closeup of pitcher plant with labels

ABOUT

GENUS Nepenthes

WHERE There are more than 100 species of tropical pitcher plants, found mostly in Southeast Asia—including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines—and in India and northern Australia.

STATUS Thirty-five Nepenthes species are listed as vulnerable or endangered on the IUCN Red List, while 10 are listed as critically endangered.

THREATS Overcollection and poaching for the rare plant trade; habitat destruction due to agriculture and human development; and drought caused by climate change.

Nepenthes khasiana

  1. Lid (operculum)
    Keeps out rainwater and ensures the plant’s digestive liquid doesn’t get diluted; may contain nectar glands that help lure in prey
  2. Rim (peristome)
    Slippery and waxy when wet, causing insects to tumble into the pitcher’s deep cavity
  3. Pitcher cup
    Funnel-shaped or tubular; filled with a sticky or watery digestive fluid that breaks down prey, much like the bacteria in our stomachs

ABOUT

GENUS Nepenthes

WHERE There are more than 100 species of tropical pitcher plants, found mostly in Southeast Asia—including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines—and in India and northern Australia.

STATUS Thirty-five Nepenthes species are listed as vulnerable or endangered on the IUCN Red List, while 10 are listed as critically endangered.

THREATS Overcollection and poaching for the rare plant trade; habitat destruction due to agriculture and human development; and drought caused by climate change.

© MICHAEL DURHAM/MINDEN PICTURES Closeup of pitcher plant with labels

Nepenthes khasiana

  1. Lid (operculum)
    Keeps out rainwater and ensures the plant’s digestive liquid doesn’t get diluted; may contain nectar glands that help lure in prey
  2. Rim (peristome)
    Slippery and waxy when wet, causing insects to tumble into the pitcher’s deep cavity
  3. Pitcher cup
    Funnel-shaped or tubular; filled with a sticky or watery digestive fluid that breaks down prey, much like the bacteria in our stomachs

BODY TYPE

Nepenthes lowii with squirrel

One species, Nepenthes lowii, offers its nectar to mountain tree shrews in exchange for the droppings the animals leave behind, a nitrogen-rich food source the plant absorbs through its “toilet pitchers.”

Nepenthes attenboroughii plant

In 2009, botanists in the Philippines discovered a new species of pitcher plant, Nepenthes attenboroughii (named for naturalist Sir David Attenborough). With stems reaching up to nearly 5 feet and pitchers that grow to roughly a foot in diameter, it’s the world’s largest carnivorous plant.

Nepenthes rajah plant

Endemic to Borneo, Nepenthes rajah has enormous pitchers which can hold three quarts of liquid—and trap lizards and even small rodents.

Explore More

About
World Wildlife magazine provides an inspiring, in-depth look at the connections between animals, people and our planet. Published quarterly by WWF, the magazine helps make you a part of our efforts to solve some of the most pressing issues facing the natural world.

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