"When Hooker described this species, also discovered by Hugh Low on Mt. Kinabalu, he wrote, "This wonderful plant is certainly one of the most striking vegetable productions hitherto discovered...", and it remains so to this day. Also found on Mt. Tambuyukon, N. rajah grows along the ground as a scrambler. The large leaves are blunt and truncated, and the tendril originates from the middle underside. The enormous pitchers are oval-shaped, almost woody in texture, red to purple in color, with a large, gapping, oblique mouth. The thick, fluted peristome is blood red. The interior of the tublike traps is pale green to pink and has no waxy zone, being entirely covered with large digestive glands. The giant lid is vaulted, red above and lime green below. The pitchers can be over a foot in length, and can hold over two quarts of digestive juices, but there have been specimens known to hold four quarts. The flower spikes can also be impressive, standing as tall as four feet. Climbing stems are rare. N. rajah is the only pitcher plant truly documented as having caught rats. It is believed the mammals were in search of water when they fell in and drowned."
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Original Language: English
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Sources
Peter D'Amato, 1998. The Savage Garden. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California, p. 270.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nepenthes_rajah
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Nepenthes rajah
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