Tech Talk

It is really astounding that international botanists have discovered a rat-eating plant in the Philippines, and it took 20 centuries before it can be found.

The rat-eating plant was found in Palawan by a team of botanists led by UK’s Stewart McPherson.

The new discovery is now called the Nepenthes attenboroughii, in honor of the UK’s world-renowed natural history presenter Sir David Attenborough as an “expression of gratitude” for his decades of work celebrating the natural world

The second largest species among pitcher plants, they measures about 30 centimeters in diameter and are formed in the shape of a large cup which is full of water and acidic enzymes, according to the botanists.

A sweet-scented nectar lures the plant’s prey, and once captured in the cup, it is prevented from escping by the slippery, waxy leaves, until it drowns.