Chien C. Lee

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  • ore than just a death trap: the watery chamber of this carnivorous pitcher plant (Nepenthes ampullaria) in the Borneo rainforest is home to a brood of tiny tadpoles. One of the world's smallest frogs (Microhyla nepenthicola), this species will lay its eggs nowhere else, making them completely dependent on the plants. Here, the tadpoles grow in relative safety, except when they are faced with other water-dwelling predators including huge carnivorous mosquitoes. After several weeks they will mature into tiny froglets and make their escape from the pitcher. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Nepenthes villosa, a high-altitude carnivorous pitcher plant endemic to Mount Kinabalu and Mount Tamboyukon. Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Flowers of a giant carnivorous bladderwort (Utricularia humboldtii) emerging from swampy grassland at the base of Mount Roraima. Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • Closeup of the flowers of a carnivorous bladderwort (Utricularia humboldtii). Canaima National Park, Bolivar, Venezuela.
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  • At nightfall, a Tepui Tree Frog (Tepuihyla obscura) emerges from the folds of a carnivorous bromeliad (Brocchinia reducta) in which it has sheltered for the day. Although receiving rain almost daily, the summits of Venezuela’s tepui mountains are exposed to volatile weather patterns, with mist often giving way to brutally intense sunlight over a span of a few minutes. A lack of shade-providing trees means that there is little to protect delicate animals such as amphibians, hence these water-filled bromeliads provide an ideal refuge from the harsh climate fluctuations. The slippery wax-coated leaves, which are designed to trap insects, are no hindrance to the frogs. Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • Heliamphora sarracenioides, a carnivorous pitcher plant endemic to a single tepui mountain in Venezuela. Bright colors and the offer of nectar attract insect prey. Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • Heliamphora pulchella, a carnivorous pitcher plant endemic to several tepui mountains in Venezuela. Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • At nightfall, a Tepui Tree Frog (Tepuihyla obscura) emerges from the folds of a carnivorous bromeliad (Brocchinia reducta) in which it has sheltered for the day. Although receiving rain almost daily, the summits of Venezuela’s tepui mountains are exposed to volatile weather patterns, with mist often giving way to brutally intense sunlight over a span of a few minutes. A lack of shade-providing trees means that there is little to protect delicate animals such as amphibians, hence these water-filled bromeliads provide an ideal refuge from the harsh climate fluctuations. The slippery wax-coated leaves, which are designed to trap insects, are no hindrance to the frogs. Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • As pretty as a bouquet of flowers, but with a sinister intent: a clump of Sun Pitchers (Heliamphora sarracenioides) advertises its lethal traps with bright colors and the offer of sweet nectar, amid the stunted vegetation of a tepui summit. Unwary insects that venture onto the inner surface of the pitcher easily lose their foothold and tumble into the water below where they are quickly drowned and digested by the plant. With annual rainfall sometimes exceeding four meters and virtually no mineral-rich soil available, nutrients are in scarce supply on Venezuela’s tepui mountains. This has fueled the diversification of many carnivorous plant species here, chief among them being the near-endemic genus Heliamphora with over 20 species. This species (H. sarracenioides) grows on the summit of only a single isolated tabletop mountain, accessible only by helicopter. Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • Nepenthes villosa, a high-altitude carnivorous pitcher plant endemic to Mount Kinabalu and Mount Tamboyukon. Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Carnivorous sundews (Drosera arenicola), growing on the summit of Amuri Tepui. Canaima National Park, Bolivar, Venezuela.
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  • Heliamphora pulchella, a carnivorous pitcher plant endemic to the summits of only a few remote tepuis (tabletop mountains) in southeastern Venezuela. Insects which fall inside are prevented from escaping by the downward-pointing bristles and quickly drown. Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • Nepenthes rajah. With perhaps the worlds largest pitchers, this carnivorous plant has been known to consume rats in the wild. Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Scarlet blooms of a carnivorous bladderwort (Utricularia quelchii). Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • Rather than being carnivorous, this unusual pitcher plant (Nepenthes lowii) derives its nutrition from the droppings of the Mountain Treeshrew (Tupaia montana). The animals are attracted to the plant's copious nectar secretions, and inevitably leave their scat in the pitchers which are designed like a natural toilet receptacle. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Drosera cistiflora, a summer dormant carnivorous sundew. Western Cape, South Africa.
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  • An enormous pitcher trap (Nepenthes rafflesiana) rests on the forest floor, an open but sinister invitation for wandering insects. This carnivorous plant has been known to occasionally catch and consume mice in its voluminous pitchers which can reach over 40cm in height. Belait, Brunei Darussalam (Borneo).
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  • The poor soils of many of Borneo’s natural habitats are home to many unusual plants, the most famous of which are undoubtedly the carnivorous pitcher plants (Nepenthes). The slippery-rimmed traps are designed to lure and consume insects and even small animals to supplement the plant’s nutrition. One of the most extraordinary is Nepenthes veitchii, seen here growing up the side of a small tree, it’s pitchers open and ready for unsuspecting visitors. Maliau Basin Conservation Area, Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes campanulata), a limestone lithophytic carnivorous plant, here growing on a cliff 250m above the rainforest canopy. Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • A tiny undescribed species of dwarf toad (Pelophryne sp.) perches on the lid of a carnivorous pitcher plant (Nepenthes villosa) high in the mossy forests of Mount Tambuyukon in northern Borneo. It is suspected that these toads and other amphibians utilize the water-filled pitchers in which to breed, but the remoteness of these locations makes this behavior difficult to study, and their exact relationship remains unconfirmed. Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • The upper pitcher of an undescribed carnivorous pitcher plant (Nepenthes sp.) from a remote mountain range in central New Guinea. Papua, Indonesia.
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  • A miniature narrow-mouthed frog (Microhyla cf. borneensis) seeks the moist shelter within a carnivorous plant (Nepenthes bicalcarata) resting on the Borneo rainforest floor. Normally a deadly pitfall trap, this plant's pitcher has been chewed open on the side by a small mammal, probably in an attempt to feed on the trapped insects (or fluids) inside. Several species of Nepenthes such as this are used as tadpole nurseries for certain frogs, some of which will breed nowhere else. Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • World within: the watery chamber of a carnivorous pitcher plant (Nepenthes ampullaria) hosts a myriad of tiny specialized creatures. An amplexing pair of the Matang Narrow-mouthed Frog (Microhyla nepenthicola), one of the world’s smallest amphibians, has visited the plant to deposit their eggs – they will breed nowhere else. They are flanked by a developing tadpole and the pupa of a predatory Elephant Mosquito (Toxorhynchites sp.). The plant benefits from everything entering the pitcher: detritus falling from the canopy above, insect prey that are drowned inside, or small visiting organisms like these that may help to break down the contents and leave their waste behind. Kubah National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Near the summit of Gunung Murud (Sarawak's highest mountain), an newly described species of tiny bush frog (Philautus nepenthophilus) hides within the fluid of a carnivorous pitcher plant (Nepenthes mollis), apparently unaffected by the plant's digestive juices therein. Phytotelmata (water bodies held by plants) provide living quarters and breeding grounds for many unique creatures which are completely dependent on them. Pulong Tau National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Drosera humbertii, the only carnivorous sundew endemic to Madagascar. Marojejy National Park.
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  • Mountain Treeshrew (Tupaia montana) feeding at Nepenthes rajah.  Recent research has shown the the world's largest pitcher plant Nepenthes rajah is not exclusively carnivorous. Like the related N. lowii, this species attracts treeshrews by secreting nectar on the undersurface of the lid. These animals frequently leave their droppings in the pitcher, which serves as a valuable nitrogen source in their impoverished mountain habitat. Mount Kinabalu National Park, Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • The delicate blooms of a carnivorous bladderwort (Utricularia chrysantha). Queensland, Australia.
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  • With its rapidly mobile marginal tentacles, this small carnivorous sundew (Drosera burmannii) is able to secure a trapped insect and transport it towards the centre of its leaves where it can be digested. It occurs widely in wet sandy habitats across Southeast Asia. Kampot, Cambodia.
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  • The lower pitcher of an undescribed carnivorous pitcher plant (Nepenthes sp.) from a remote mountain range in central New Guinea. Papua, Indonesia.
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  • Colobopsis schmitzi ant on peristome of Nepenthes bicalcarata pitcher. Although these carnivorous plants trap most insects, this ant has a mutualistic relationship with the plant and is able to freely walk on the slippery surface. Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Bladderwort (Utricularia moniliformis). This small and delicate carnivorous plant is endemic to the mountains of central Sri Lanka. It grows among clumps of moss either as an epiphyte or adjacent to rocky streams. Horton Plains National Park, Sri Lanka.
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  • Usually visible only by its flowers, this carnivorous bladderwort (Utricularia odorata) possesses tiny underground traps which enable it to consume small invertebrates in the wet soil. Kampot, Cambodia.
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  • A woolly sundew (Drosera petiolaris) from the subtropical savannas of far northern Australia. Many of these carnivorous plants enter a state of dormancy in the dry season and are unable to trap insects until the rains return. Queensland, Australia.
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  • The toilet-shaped upper pitchers of this carnivorous pitcher plant (Nepenthes jamban) are exceedingly funnel-shaped and filled with a thick mucilaginous liquid which may aid in prey capture. It is endemic to a single mountain in North Sumatra, Indonesia.
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  • A view from within the pitcher of this semi-carnivorous plant (Nepenthes ampullaria). Without a protective lid as in most other species of Nepenthes, the pitchers of N. ampullaria are exposed to rain as well as a continual fall of leaf litter from the forest canopy. In this way they are able to derive a significant portion of their nutrients from detritus. The dark objects on the inner rim are pupae of a Megaselia fly whose larvae feed on dead insects within the pitcher fluid. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Sabah Bamboo Pitviper (Trimeresurus sabahi). Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Flat-nosed Pitviper (Craspedocephalus puniceus). West Java, Indonesia.
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  • Extremely agile on the wing, the Bat Hawk (Macheiramphus alcinus) is a specialist predator of bats and swiftlets, often waiting near cave entrances for its prey to emerge. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Bronzeback (Dendrelaphis terrificus). Gorontalo, Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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  • Flat-nosed Pitviper (Craspedocephalus puniceus). West Java, Indonesia.
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  • Leopard (Panthera pardus), juvenile. Ngamiland, Botswana.
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  • A juvenile Oriental Vine Snake (Ahaetulla prasina) basks in a beam of sunlight in the rainforest of Tangkoko National Park. These highly arboreal snakes are excellent climbers and are adept at hunting lizards, their favored prey. North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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  • The Bornean Keeled Green Pit Viper (Tropidolaemus subannulatus) is an arboreal species, often laying in wait for prey on the same branch for weeks at a time. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • A large male Bornean Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi) is caught on camera trap as he patrols his territory in the rainforest of Danum Valley, Sabah. Borneo's largest cat species, the clouded leopard preys on a variety of smaller wildlife ranging from deer and wild boar to monkeys. Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Bornean Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi borneensis), captive female. This is the largest land predator in Borneo and possesses the longest canine teeth of any living feline. It is a nocturnal hunter and has been observed feeding on prey as large as large as Proboscis Monkeys. Recently this species was distinguished from the mainland Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • The Black-headed Cat Snake (Boiga nigriceps) is an arboreal predator of birds and other snakes.  Although it has one of the most potent venoms of all colubrid snakes, it possesses only rear fangs and is not an aggressive species. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Carpet Python (Morelia spilota). Queensland, Australia.
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  • With an adult size of less than one meter in length, the beautifully patterned Children's Python (Antaresia childreni) is one of the smallest pythons. Cape Range National Park, Exmouth, Western Australia.
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  • Borneo Short-tailed Python (Python breitensteini). Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Slender Mongoose (Herpestes sanguineus). Mpumalanga, South Africa.
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  • Once considered a subspecies of the widespread Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela), the Sulawesi Serpent Eagle has a distinctive plumage and is endemic to Sulawesi. Like other serpent eagles it feeds on snakes, lizards, and occasional small mammals. Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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  • Green Tree Python (Morelia azurea), juvenile.
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  • Like all cobras, this juvenile Equatorial Spitting Cobra (Naja sumatrana), also called the Black Spitting Cobra and Sumatran Spitting Cobra, inflates its hood when approached by a potential threat. As an additional defense this species is also capable of spitting venom at distances of up to 1 meter, which is typically aimed with great accuracy at the eyes of its adversary. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Striped Bronzeback (Dendrelaphis caudolineatus). Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Pitcher plant (Heliamphora uncinata). Canaima National Park, Bolivar, Venezuela.
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  • Pitcher plant natural hybrid (Heliamphora nutans x glabra). Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • An unusually hairy pitcher plant (Heliamphora minor var. pilosa), endemic to Auyan Tepui. Canaima National Park, Bolivar, Venezuela.
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  • Sundew (Drosera roraimae). Amuri Tepui, Canaima National Park, Bolivar, Venezuela.
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  • A bush frog (Philautus amoenus) emerges from it's watery shelter in the pitcher of Nepenthes × harryana. Mount Kinabalu. Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Bush frog (Philautus nepenthophilus) in pitcher plant (Nepenthes mollis). Pulong Tau National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes eymae), upper pitchers. Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes bicalcarata). Normally occuring only in shady peat swamp forests, this species occasionally grows in open heath-like peat bogs. It is endemic to Borneo. Sarawak, Malaysia.
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes andamana), a species adapted for seasonally dry grasslands. Phang Nga, Thailand.
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes hamata). Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes nigra). Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes attenboroughii). Palawan, Philippines.
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  • Nepenthes undulatifolia, a newly described pitcher plant from the montane forests of Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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  • This rare sundew (Drosera hirticalyx) is endemic to several mountains in Venezuela. Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes attenboroughii). Palawan, Philippines.
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  • Nepenthes hamata.  Given the right conditions, many species of Nepenthes have the capacity to sprout aerial rosettes on their climbing stems, so that the pitchers are suspended in mid-air.  This species is endemic to the mountains of Sulawesi.
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  • Pitcher plant (Heliamphora huberi). Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • The bizarre gourd-shaped pitchers of this pitcher plant (Nepenthes lowii) are an unforgettable sight in the mossy forests of northern Borneo. It is has been shown that these function to trap animal droppings which serve as fertilizer for the plant. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes pitopangii). Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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  • Upper pitchers of Nepenthes murudensis. This rare pitcher plant is endemic to the summit region of the highest mountain in Sarawak, Gunung Murud.
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  • Nepenthes eymae, a pitcher plant with highly dimorphic pitchers found on the lower and upper parts of the vine.  Shown here are the upper pitchers.  It is endemic to the higher mountains of Central Sulawesi.
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  • Pitcher plant (Heliamphora purpurascens). Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • A carnivoruos bromeliad (Brocchinia reducta) growing in marshy grassland of the Gran Sabana. Bolivar, Venezuela.
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  • Nepenthes hamata, a rare species of pitcher plant found only in the cool and damp mossy forests on steep ridges in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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  • Sundew (Drosera roraimae). Canaima National Park, Venezuela.
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes attenboroughii). Palawan, Philippines.
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes edwardsiana). Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes attenboroughii). Palawan, Philippines.
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  • This unusual pitcher plant (Nepenthes lowii) derives its nutrition from the droppings of the Mountain Treeshrew (Tupaia montana). The animals are attracted to the plant's copious nectar secretions, and inevitably leave their scat in the pitchers which are designed like a natural toilet receptacle. Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Nepenthes mapuluensis, a rare pitcher plant endemic to the limestone mountains of East Kalimantan, Indonesia (Borneo).
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  • Nepenthes distillatoria, a Sri Lankan endemic and the only pitcher plant species occurring on the island.
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes rafflesiana), upper pitcher. Brunei Darussalam (Borneo).
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  • Striped Bladderwort (Utricularia striatula). Bach Ma National Park, Vietnam.
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  • Scat of Mountain Treeshrew (Tupaia montana) on the peristome of Nepenthes rajah. This will be washed into the pitcher with rain where it becomes a vital source of nutrients for the plant. Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes lowii). Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • With its fearsome clawed peristome, this pitcher plant (Nepenthes hamata) is one of the most spectacular and sought-after species in the entire genus. It is endemic to the higher mountains of Sulawesi where it grows on steep mossy ridges. Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes rafflesiana). Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes sibuyanensis). This large pitcher plant is endemic to the ultramafic Mount Guiting-guiting on Sibuyan Island, Philippines.
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes stenophylla), upper pitcher. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Formally described in 2009, this pitcher plant (Nepenthes bokorensis) is endemic to the Kampot province of southern Cambodia where it grows on rocky montane plateaus amid scrub and short forest.
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  • Drosera ultramafica. This recently (2011) described sundew species occurs on ultramafic mountains in Borneo, Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Palawan.  Like other sundews it is insectivorous and traps prey by means of its sticky mobile tentacles. Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Compact clumps of the rare pitcher plant Nepenthes campanulata grow on the vertical walls of a limestone cliff nearly a hundred meters above the canopy of the rainforest. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes papuana). Digul River, South Papua, Indonesia (New Guinea).
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  • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes campanulata). Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • One of the most beautiful of all pitcher plants, Nepenthes edwardsiana produces enormous cylindrical pitchers which are strikingly colored. It is endemic to the Mount Kinabalu region in northern Borneo.
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  • Endemic to Indonesian New Guinea, this pitcher plant (Nepenthes lamii) is known only from upper montane habitats, occasionally growing as high as 3500m where frosts occur. Highland Papua, Indonesia (New Guinea).
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