Nepenthes Bokorensis is a pitcher plant endemic to Cambodia, with a strange appearance that not everyone is familiar with. This specimen is one of the 5 Nepenthes species that are growing in Cambodia, and there are 129 species around the world. We are going to look into some of the interesting things about this pitcher plant below. Let’s see how much you know about it, and if you have seen one before.
Appearance
Nepenthes Bokorensis is a climbing plant that can grow up to a height of 7 meters tall. Known as the Penis Plant or Penis Flytrap, this pitcher plant has an appearance that is true to its nicknames. The pitcher is a long stem of up to 0.9 centimeters thick along with a typical arum with “veins”. On top of the pitcher is the lid (operculum) which is orbicular to broadly elliptic in shape.
What you have to know is that the pitcher is not the plant, it is part of the entire plant. Nepenthes Bokorensis has a racemose inflorescence that can be up to a meter in length. This plant bears up to 80 flowers, and the pitchers have the role to trap insects to feed the rest of the plant.
Feeding & Habitat
Pitcher plants are one of the carnivorous plants that feed on insects, especially ants. This is how they got another nickname “bampoung sramoch”, meaning ants’ pothole. The pitchers produce a sweet-smelling nectar inside that draws prey, mostly insects, in. Then the digestive fluids inside the pitchers down the prey, feeding the rest of the plant. The bottom part of the part has the role to absorb natural compost from the insects’ dead bodies to supply the entire plant. This process does not only provide nutrients to the plants but also to the soil it grows in.
Nepenthes Bokorensis only grows in Mount Bokor, specifically Bokor National Park. Their typical habitat is seasonally dry upland scrub, and sometimes in stunted lower montane forests under sparse tree cover. The 5 Nepenthes species growing in Cambodia including:
- Nepenthes Bokorensis: in Bokor National Park.
- Nepenthes Holdenii: along Krorvarnh mountain range.
- Nepenthes Kampotiana Lecomte: in Kampot province, Somkos Wildlife Conservation, and along Krorvarnh mountain range.
- Nepenthes Mirabilis (Loureiro) Druce: in Kampot, Kep, and Preah Sihanouk provinces.
- Nepenthes Smilesii Hemsley: in Kampot province and Kirirom National Park.
I went up there and got to see them once, there will be a few people who show you around. You are allowed to see, touch, and take photos but you should never pick the pitchers. Doing so will affect the survival of the plant because there won’t be a source of food. Nepenthes Bokorensis is not only rare but also endangered so it is important to be considerate and care for the plant.
Threats
Surprisingly, women are the main threats to these rare plants. It is a social media era when people like to post unique things to get likes, comments, and shares. Many women picked the pitcher plants, take photos, and post them on social media. The plants are already rare, let alone having women pick one or two pitchers each time. These plants cannot survive without the pitchers, and this is why the Ministry of Environment asked them to please stop.
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