NEPENTHES ATTENBOROUGHII (ATTENBOROUGH JUG): CHARACTERISTICS, CARE - BIOLOGY - 2025

Nepenthes attenboroughii is a carnivorous plant belonging to the Nepenthaceae family. Known as the Attenborough jug, it is an insectivorous species recently discovered in the hot and humid mountains of the Philippines.

Its discovery was made by botanists who in 2007 collected samples of the genus Nepenthes in the Philippine archipelago. The group of scientists, led by Alastair Robinson, Stewart McPherson and Volker Heinrich, named the new species in honor of the English naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

Plant of the genus Nepenthes. Source: pixabay.com

It is a shrubby plant that is characterized by its large bell-shaped pitchers, open and arranged in a cup shape. Each launcher contains two immiscible fractions of a viscous liquid at the bottom and rainwater at the top.

Larvae of different dipteran species develop in the water stored in the upper fraction. The plant is nourished by the pitchers that catch the prey, as well as the detritus of the larvae that live inside.

Its natural habitat is located at the top of the mountains in the Philippines, at more than 1,500 meters above sea level, on rocky soils and inhospitable conditions. Their eating habits guarantee their survival in these environmental conditions.

General characteristics

Appearance

Plant with shrubby habits, cylindrical and ascending stems measuring 120-150 cm in height, 25-35 mm in diameter and divided by internodes every 30-45 mm. This carnivorous species is easily distinguishable by its flared pitchers fitted with a short, vertical cap that allows it to catch insects for nutrition.

Leaves

The oval, leathery, dark green glossy leaves are 25-30 cm long by 8-10 cm wide. Characterized by their obtuse apex and rounded base, they are sessile or short petiolate and arranged in sheathing rosettes around the stem.

Launchers

Nepenthes attenboroughii pitchers. Source: Dr. Alastair Robinson

The pitchers are modified and specialized leaves that constitute the traps with which the plant traps its prey. The Nepenthes attenboroughii pitchers are the largest of the genus, reaching volumes of 1.5 liters, even greater than 2 liters.

These structures are formed from a normal leaf from which sprouts a tendril that progressively lengthens and widens. The jug is supported by two marked, oblique, elliptical ribs with smooth, slippery edges ensuring that insects roll inside.

Crisp-textured, camp-shaped lower pitchers or pitchers are 25-30 cm high by 20-25 cm wide. The upper pitchers are infundibular or funnel in shape and measure 20-25 cm high by 10-12 cm wide. In both cases they contain digestive juices.

The edge of the pitchers is rounded and smooth, strongly aromatic and brightly colored, which attracts insects. These generally slip easily into your interior, where digestive juices easily break them down.

flowers

The flowers are grouped in male and female flower clusters. The male inflorescences are made up of more than 100 small pedicelled flowers of reddish tones on a 45 cm long rachis.

The female inflorescences are arranged on a long flower stalk, from which 20 cm long flower clusters sprout. Each cluster is made up of 70 flowers on average of reddish, brown or purple oval tepals.

Fruit

The fruits are elongated capsules 1-2 cm long that open into valves. Inside there are small brown seeds that are easily dispersed by the wind.

In this video you can see the morphology of these plants and how they trap their prey:

Taxonomy

- Kingdom: Plantae

- Division: Magnoliophyta

- Class: Magnoliopsida

- Order: Caryophyllales

- Family: Nepenthaceae

- Genus: Nepenthes

- Species: Nepenthes attenboroughii AS Rob., S. McPherson & VB Heinrich (2009).

Habitat and distribution

The Nepenthes attenboroughii species is endemic to Mount Victoria in the central region of Palawan, south of the Asian country of the Philippines. In its natural habitat it grows in isolated groups on stony soils of basic pH and reaches up to 180 cm in height.

It prefers sandy, humid and low fertility soils, at an altitude range between 1,500 and 1,750 meters above sea level. This species grows solitary or in small groups among the scrub or shrub vegetation on the summits of Mount Victoria.

Image of the larvae that live within the Nepenthes attenboroughii pitchers. Source: Dr. Alastair Robinson

Care

Spread

Attenborough jug. Source: Dr. Alastair Robinson

The species Nepenthes attenboroughii is propagated experimentally by tissue culture to maintain the characteristics of the mother plant. Ornamentally, it can be multiplied by means of seeds obtained from commercially grown plants.

It is advisable to propagate under greenhouse conditions to maintain growth and development conditions similar to their natural habitat. Likewise, it requires a substrate of perlite, vermiculite and moist, low fertility sphagnum moss.

Location

In wild conditions it grows under a shady environment, so when cultivated commercially it must be kept protected from the direct rays of the sun. Indoors it grows well in window light or in a fluorescently lit terrarium.

Substratum

The best substrate to grow commercially is a mixture of three parts perlite or fine sand, one part sphagnum moss, and one part coconut or palm fiber.

Irrigation

Grown in pots it requires frequent watering, preferably rain or filtered water, avoiding the use of processed water. It is advisable to keep the substrate moist, without flooding to avoid rotting of the roots.

Subscriber

It does not require any type of compost or fertilizer. The Attenborough pitcher is an insectivorous plant that gets its nutrients directly from the insects it catches in its traps.

Rusticity

They are difficult plants to grow unless environmental conditions are warm, with high relative humidity, and no occasional frost.

Plagues and diseases

It is a fairly rustic species to the incidence of pests and diseases. In warm and not very humid environments it can be attacked by some type of mealybug, however, they can be eliminated by physical methods such as the use of a fine brush. When it is exceeded, with the humidity of the irrigation, bacterial problems can occur at the level of the roots.

References

1. Attenborough's pitcher plant (2020) The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica. Recovered at: britannica.com
2. Naranjas, P. (2018) Carnivorous Plants. Nepenthes attenboroughii Recovered in: lasplantascarnivoras.info
3. Nepenthes attenboroughii. (2019). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered at: es.wikipedia.org
4. Nepenthes attenboroughii (2019) Flower Flowers. Recovered in: florflores.com
5. Robinson, AS, Fleischmann, AS, Mcpherson, SR, Heinrich, VB, Gironella, EP, & Pena, CQ (2009). A spectacular new species of Nepenthes L. (Nepenthaceae) pitcher plant from central Palawan, Philippines. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 159 (2), 195-202.