Pitcher Plant

Carnivorous plants never ceased to amaze me...
Most plants obtain their nutrients from the sunlight...
These plants however, obtain them from insects and animals..
I wonder, is there any human-eating plants?


In the thick and dense Sarawakian forest, pitcher plants are found in abundant.

http://www.mongabay.com/images/indonesia/kalimantan/kali9838.JPG

The pitcher plants grows elaborate pitchers at the tip of their leafs.
These pitchers are filled with sweet-smelling liquid which is akin to honey.

Attracted by this smell, insects may land on the rim of the plant to investigate.
At the rim of the plant, insect will find some sweet liquid. This sugary liquid was secreted by the pitcher plant to encourage the insect to stay.

Once the insect decided to investigate further, the shape of the pitcher plant will cause it to fall into the liquid inside the pitcher plant.

A bug trapped in pitcher plant
http://ucanr.org/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/896.jpg

 The pitcher plant have inward-curving hairs and slippery walls that prevents insects from escaping from the pitcher.

Slowly, the insect will rot inside the pitcher, while the nutrients of the insects will be absorbed by the pitcher plant.