Move over Venus Flytrap, a giant rodent-eating plant has been discovered in the Philippines! Botanists discovered the new species of pitcher plant in a remote area of central Philippines. Besides insects, the plant is so big it can even trap unsuspecting rodents and other small critters that get too close. Catching its prey, the plant closes the tube around the animal, trapping them.
In 2000, several Christian missionaries got lost for nearly two weeks while trying to climb Mount Victoria in 
the Philippines. During their “adventure”, they spotted the huge plant. Stewart R. McPherson, Alastair S. Robinson and Volker B. Heinrich, all pitcher plant experts, heard the news of the possible sighting and in 2007, the threesome and several guides, traveled to the remote location hoping to find the carnivorous plant.
According to the BBC, McPherson said, “At around 1,600 metres above sea level, we suddenly saw one great pitcher plant, then a second, then many more. It was immediately apparent that the plant we had found was not a known species.”
The plant, Nepenthes attenboroughii, is named after Sir David Attenborough, the famous broadcaster, filmmaker and naturalist. Along with a pitcher plant that had not been seen in the wild for 100 years, the group also spotted several other unknown plants during their expedition.
A spectacular new species of Nepenthes L. (Nepenthaceae) pitcher plant from central Palawan, Philippines was published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society and includes drawings and additional photographs.
Photos courtesy of Alastair Robinson via Creative Commons
Another plant that is making headlines from the Philippines is the TickleMe Plant. The TickleMe plant wont hurt a fly but it will instantly close its leaves and lower its branches when Tickled! Now it can easily be grown as a house plant year round. I first saw it on CSI NY and now you can see an amazing video and grow your own at http://www.ticklemeplant.com. I ordered the TickleMe Plant Greenhouse. I think it will make a great Christmas gift and they say the seeds are good for over a year.
yah that is cool i wonder if it keeps on eat hamsters and other garbage it might get big man i might start eating biger things like skunks and then its seeds will also eat that and then it might start eat other bigger animals like ponysand cats and dogs and then loins and tigers and then other srcaps like stupid human then elephants and then girafss and then it might start eating trees and holly like when it starts eating the whole forest we will haveto kill but we cant so we make a lake of beer but we makeit into cude and then when it eats it it get knocked out and we dig it up capture it and put it in the zoo and then instead of killing murderers we season them up like we put butter salt and peper on them and tie them the a wall and when the man eating plant smells it it gets hungry and every body can watch the person screaming and yelling help help and then the plant eats him dat would be awesome MAN XD>; PHYCO YAH DRUNKER OH YAH OH YAH HAPPY JANAM ASHTAMI
actually,tina, the tickle me plant you mentioned is a kind of weed here in the philippines.We call it here ‘MAKAHIYA’.I still remember my mom asking me to remove it in our garden.I was amazed when i found out that it is considered as a house plant.Well,I and my siblings usually play with it when we were still young but we often end up punctured and hurt by its thorns.haha…
yeah! It is only a Makahiya weed, “makahiya” meaning “Shy” in Filipino. There are lots of them in almost any weedy spots in the Philippines. Im surprised to read that some people are surprised by this plant. I think it only exists in tropical places.