A curious plant

Tool to locals, curiosity to scientists, symbiotic home to unique creatures, Nepenthes are different things to different groups.

There are more than 150 critters – certain ant species, frogs, crabs, and many more –  that use the Tropical pitcher plant as a home, breeding ground, or food source. These species have evolved alongside Nepenthes to avoid being eaten, but in many cases, support a mutually-beneficial relationship with the plant. This comes in the form of droppings that feed the plant, protection from pests that would otherwise harm them, and assistance with digestion of captured prey.

Locals use Nepenthes as various tools. Pitchers truly live up to their name when they are used to collect rainwater for drinking or as water scopes. Some use large pitchers as cooking vessels for rice which, supposedly, enhances the flavor. Vining Nepenthes ampullaria stems have be used as rope. Unopened traps with sterile fluid inside is used as an asthma reliever, painkiller, and eyewash. Roots supposedly have medicinal qualities that help reduce fevers and regulate menstruation. Yet other parts of the plant are used to treat stomach problems, dysentery, heartburn, and indigestion.

And here you thought they were only good for catching flies.

Scientists have found Nepenthes to be a fascinating and perplexing species. DNA links them genetically closer to sticky-leaved carnivorous plant cousins like Drosera, Triphyophyllum, and Drosophyllum, than other pitfall-trap-using carnivores like Sarracenia and Heliamphora. In Europe, fossil evidence of pollen places them as far back as the Eocene epoch more than 58million years ago. Today, the most ancient species hail from Sri Lanka, northern India, Madagascar, and the Seychelles. Once the species migrated to Southeast Asia, there was a burst in evolutionary diversity, yielding the numerous species we see today.

Cataloging Nepenthes

The first description of a Nepenthes (N. madagascariensis) came from Frenchman Etinne de Flacourt, then-govenor of Madagascar, in 1658; “a hollow flower or fruit resembling a small vase, with its own lid, a wonderful sight.” Carl Linnaeus enthusiastically described the second species, N. distillatoria from Sri Lanka, recalling Homer’s The Odyssey, and the drug “nepenthe” used by Helen of Troy to alleviate soldiers’ grief. He said “If this is not Helen’s Nepenthes, it certainly will be for all botanists. What botanist would not be filled with admiration if, after a long journey, he should find this wonderful plant. In his astonishment past ills would be forgotten when beholding this admirable work of the creator!” In 1737, it was made official, and the genus received the Latin name Nepenthiana.

Nepenthes rode the coattails of European imperialism over the next century. Simultaneously, as Europeans colonized Southeast Asia, they built greenhouses to grow exotic plants for royal gardens. The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew (a beautiful location where your dear author proposed to his wife), was one established garden, still hosting a lovely collection of Nepenthes to this day. Technological and economic advancements of the time made housing and transporting exotic plants during long sea voyages easier and more accessible to the middle class. Nurseries were established for the mass-production of ornamental plants, including Loddiges Nursery in England which introduced N. khasiana to the public in 1825. As more nurseries were established, expeditions to collect specimens became more commonplace, introducing new species into horticulture. By the 1800s, the plants were a mainstay in any serious horticulturalists’ collection.

Then came the World wars and economic depression that lead to abandoned greenhouses and a decline in Nepenthes cultivation. It wasn’t until the 1990s that the interests in Nepenthes reignited, with more expeditions, and more species discovered in the last few decades than any other period. We’re currently at around 150 species, and counting!