Tropical Pitcher Plants | An Introduction To The Wonderful Nepenthes Part One

TROPICAL PITCHER PLANTS

An Introduction To The Wonderful Nepenthes

PART ONE

By: Christy Suzuki, RN

What Are Tropical Pitcher Plants ?

Nepenthes A.K.A. Pitcher plants are another form of

carnivorous plants; mainly found in

southeast Asia.

Why Are They Called Nepenthes?

According to Peter D’amato, This plant was

coined “Nepenthe” in 1737 after Carl

Linnaeus, a botanist, found referred the fluid liquid in the pitcher as

the narcotic called Nepenthe. Nepenthe was given to grieving

soldiers to help alleviate their pain during

Homer’s The Odyssey.

Basic External Anatomy

Function Of The Lid

The lid, for the most part, has 3 functions:

1- Umbrella

2- Landing Platform

3- Capturing Bait

Function Of The Lid

UMBRELLA:

Most lids help keep rain water

out of the pitcher.

This prevents the pitcher plant’s

digestive fluid from being diluted.

Function Of The Lid

LANDING PLATFORM:

The outer part of the lid serves as a nice flat landing place for little flying creatures visiting to munch on

some of the Nepenthe’s nectar.

Function Of The Lid

CAPTURING BAIT:

There are nectar glands on the

outer surface of the lid, and even

more nectar glands on the inner

side of the lid.

Function Of The Rim

The Peristome (rim) of the pitcher

plant has very large nectar

glands located on the inner end of

the rim.

Function Of The Rim

The nectar located at the inner edge of the rim will lure the pitcher plant’s prey

inside the pitcher plant.

Function Of The Rim

Once the bug loses his balance, he will fall into the pitcher plant and will try to

get back out.

Function Of The Wings

The wings help guide crawling creatures up into

the pitcher.

Some people call this part the “ladder”.

Nepenthes that reside closer to the ground and base of the plant have

larger wings than nepenthes that are higher and farther away from the base of the plant.

Part TwoComing Next Month