'Venus Rat-Trap' in remote Philippines pays tribute to David Attenborough

'Venus Rat-Trap' in remote Philippines pays tribute to David Attenborough

www.msnbc.msn.com

A carnivorous pitcher plant big enough to gobble up rats has been named in honor of British TV naturalist David Attenborough.

"It's just a compliment," Attenborough told The Times of London, "but it's very nice to receive compliments."

The plant, discovered on the Philippine island of Palawan during a 2007 scientific expedition and now dubbed Nepenthes attenboroughii, is not so nice: Rodents and insects that fall into the "pitcher" can be trapped and slowly consumed by its flesh-eating enzymes. That ability has led some headline-writers to dub the plant a "Venus Rat-Trap."

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Just wondering that since this was not known about till 2007 what else is left for man to discover. Is there such a thing as cryptohorticulture?This seems like a major discovery, are there any known carniverous plants this large?How often do scientists stumble onto finds like these?

here is the link to the video

www.msnbc.msn.com...

[edit on 8/19/2009 by glevel]

[edit on 8/19/2009 by glevel]

That's awesome! I would love to have some planted out front

reply to post by AnonymousMoose


That is what I was thinking...might keep the mice away as well as a cat, and all ya have to do is water it.