Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Nepenthes (Kantong Semar)


The Nepenthes popularly known as Tropical Pitcher Plants or Monkey Cups. The greatest diversity occurs in Sumatra and Borneo with many endemic species.

The research shown that this plant have a trap that consists of liquid, this liquid can traps the insects and many different species. So, Nepenthes is a predator and its environment as their prey ( examples : ants, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, etc. ). The most uncommon prey for Nepenthes includes rats found in N. rajah.

But in facts, there are some organisms spend at least part of their lives within the pitchers of Nepenthes. For instance, mosquitos larvae lives in Nepenthes, others are fly larvae, spiders, ants, and even a crab.

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