The Mousetrap: The carnivorous plant that eats rodents for lunch - named after Sir David Attenborough

By Claire Bates
Updated:

Scientists have discovered a flesh-eating plant so large that it can swallow and devour rats whole. They are lured into its slipper-like mouth to drown or die of exhaustion before being slowly dissolved by digestive enzymes.

Natural history explorer Stewart McPherson, who runs Redfern Natural History Productions, discovered the plant during an expedition to Mount Victoria in the Philippines, with fellow botanists Alastair Robinson and Volker Heinrich.

The plant, a member of the 'pitcher' family, grows more than 4ft long. The team said in a statement: 'That one of the largest carnivorous plants has remained undiscovered until the 21st century is remarkable.

pitcher
Enlarge   rat in pitcher plant

Hungry: The newly-discovered Nepenthes attenboroughii (left), which is named after British nature expert Sir David Attenborugh, can swallow mice like its cousin the Nepenthes northiana (right)

'Many pitcher plants trap not only insects, but also rodents including mice and rats, and the new species - Nepenthes attenboroughii - is certainly large enough to catch such big prey!'

Details of the discovery, named Nepenthes attenboroughii in honour of naturalist Sir David Attenborough, were published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.

The plants produce large 'pitchers' which are big, hollow, water-filled leaf structure. The plant then secrete nectar to attract insects and some rodents. The prey falls in and cannot escape back up the slippery, waxy interior of the trap.

Mr McPherson, 26, from Poole, told the Mail Online: 'The victim drowns in the pitcher and acids and enzymes in the fluid within the trap break down the remains of the prey.

'The fluid breaks down the soft parts of the prey, and generally, only the bones of the prey remain.'

little shop of horrors

The newly discovered species is a meat-eater, like man-eating plant Audrey in the film Little Shop Of Horrors

Sir David Attenborough

Botanists named the plant 'Nepenthes attenboroughii' after nature expert Sir David Attenborough

Mr McPherson said pitchers were usually colourful to attract prey, especially insects, which they needed to survive.

'All pitcher plants are carnivorous plants. They need to acquire nutrients by trapping and digesting animals (mainly insects) because they grow in really hostile areas where nutrients are scarce in the soil,' he said.

'This new species which was discovered in the Philippines produces pitcher traps that are green with purple blotches, and they stand out clearly from surrounding vegetation.'

The team said the structure of its leaves, pitchers and flowers suggests strongly that the new species is a close relative of the great Nepenthes rajah from Borneo and may be related to the Nepenthes flora of Palawan and Borneo.

Sir David, 83, was thrilled to have the exotic plant named after him.

He said: 'I was contacted by the team shortly after the discovery and they asked if they could name it after me. I was delighted and told them, 'Thank you very much'.

'I'm absolutely flattered. This is a remarkable species and the largest of its kind.'

It is one of 13 new species the team has discovered during three years of expeditions in South East Asia. The botanists also discovered strange pink ferns and blue mushrooms they could not identify during the same trip.

Mr McPherson's company is working on a documentary and has produced books about the new species.

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