Nepenthes Rajah Plants

Characteristics

• Giant pitcher plant has large, gobletlike modified leaves called pitchers that can hold about 3 quarts of water. Because monkeys are known to sip rainwater from the pitchers, the plant sometimes is called monkey cups. Ants and other insects, which are attracted by the plant’s nectar, make up the main portion of giant pitcher plant's diet, but lizards and small mammals that crawl into the pitchers can’t climb out and are digested by the plant.

Habit

• The giant pitcher plant is native to the alpine forests of Eastern Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo), specifically on adjacent mountains Mount Kinabalu and Mount Tambuyukon. It grows in bright light in moist, well-draining soil and spreads to form a clump. Its stems reach from 10 to 20 feet long, and its pitchers rest on the ground, unlike those of most pitcher plants. The leaves are large, oblong, flat blades. It is considered endangered in the wild.

Pitchers, Flowers and Fruit

• The giant pitcher plant’s pitchers are reddish purple on the outside and lime green on the inside and grow up to 16 inches tall. They have a ridged upper edge and a lid held above the opening. Beige-colored male and female flowers are produced on separate plants and give off a strong, sweet smell. They are followed by rust-colored fruits containing many winged seeds.

Cultivation

• Giant pitcher plant is a tropical plant that does not thrive outdoors in the United States, except in Hawaii. Grow it in a sphagnum peat moss-perlite mixture indoors at a temperature that does not drop below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s the minimum temperature of U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 12, which excludes all mainland U.S. states. Daytime temperatures can be as high as 95 degrees. Mist plants regularly to simulate tropical humidity. If the plant is not catching insects, you can carefully drop a fly, small spider or other small insect into one of its pitchers.