A team of British Botanists recently discovered a pitcher plant that eats rodents in the deep jungles of Palawan, Philippines. Stewart Mcpherson and Alastair Robinson found the plant in 2007 but their findings were published only this year in the Botanical Journal of Linnean Society.
The rodent eater is among the largest of all pitcher plants. According to McPherson, “The plant produces spectacular traps which catch not only insects, but also rodents. It is remarkable that it remained undiscovered until the 21st century."
The rat-eating shrub dissolves its prey with acid-like enzymes inside its pitcher-shaped leaves. The pitchers measure 30 x 16 cm, double the size of usual pitcher plants found in the area.
Its funnel shape, a form usually associated with aerial types of the species, is distinct from its counterparts, which have a more rounded bottom. A terrestrial species, it has a red-lipped mouth topped by a smaller leaf called a lid.
The plant is now known as Nepenthes attenboroughii, named after British nature filmmaker Sir David Attenborough.
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