New pitcher plant found in the Philippines may already be critically endangered

Nepenthes is a group of tropical carnivorous plants found in South and Southeast Asia, Madagascar, and parts of Australia. Their leaves are modified into specialized pitchers that function as slippery, passive traps: small prey like insects fall into a fluid at the base of the trap, where enzymes liquidize them for the plant to consume.

Researchers have named the newly described species Nepenthes megastoma, its species name meaning “large mouth,” referring to the pitcher’s large opening. Ecologists first spotted a few individuals of the plant with binoculars in 2013. The plants were hanging off the vertical face of a limestone cliff within the Mount Saint Paul karst formation of Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP) on Palawan island.

At the time, they thought these were specimens of N. campanulata, a pitcher plant native to Borneo. However, thanks to a local nature guide, researchers were made aware of another, more-accessible location where the same pitcher plant seemed to be growing.

A few expeditions and drone surveys later, the researchers were able to study the plant’s morphology and ecology, eventually confirming that the species was new to science. So far,  N. megastoma is only known from three locations...This article was originally published on Mongabay