Fanged pitcher plant fact file

The tropical pitcher plants (Nepenthes) of Asia are amongst the largest and most spectacular of all carnivorous plants ⁽⁴⁾, being equipped with large, modified, pitcher-shaped leaves with which to trap and digest small organisms ⁽⁵⁾. These deadly traps hang from coiled tendrils, and are filled with acidic digestive juices. In order to prevent the digestive liquid from being diluted by rainwater, the pitchers are covered by small lids as they grow, which open up when the pitchers are fully developed ⁽⁵⁾. One of the most striking of all Nepenthes is the fanged pitcher plant, a large and impressive species famous for the two menacing fang-like spines projecting downward from its lid ⁽⁶⁾, which distinguish it from any other Nepenthes species ⁽²⁾. The pitcher colour of this species is typically yellowish green or orange, and occasionally red ⁽⁷⁾.