Philippine Deforestation

Pitcher Plants
Nepenthes

©2002 (Photograph by J.C. Regalado Jr.)

The pitcher plant feeds on insects which are digested in the enzymatic fluid within the plant's pitcher.

Pitcher plants (Nepenthes) are fantastic members of the diverse carnivorous-plant group that spurs so much popular curiosity, including ideas of man-eating plants (which remain mythological, so far as we know). The pitcher is actually part of a leaf, its upper portion modified early in its development to fold around itself, thus forming a pitcher complete with a lid. The pitcher collects rainwater into which the plant secretes digestive enzymes. Insects unfortunate enough to land near the slippery mouth fall into the liquid and are prevented from escaping by a series of downward-projecting spines. Eventually the insects drown and are digested by the plants.
There are 86 species of pitcher plants in the world, ten of which occur in the Philippines. Eight of the ten are unique to the country. The Philippines can boast of Nepenthes merrilliana, which has one of the largest pitchers, up to 34 centimeters deep, 17 centimeters wide, and holding as much as one and a half liters of liquid. The species is found only in Surigao on the island of Mindanao. Known as lapsay to the Manobo tribe that inhabits this region, the species flourishes in exposed or sunny edges of shrub lands from sea level up to 250 meters elevation. It grows in very poor, nutrient-deficient soil that is reddish in color and has very high iron content. We saw an abundance of pitcher plants at many of our study sites in the high mountains, festooning trees with their graceful, brightly colored pitchers.

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