News Plants

This pitcher plant species sets its deathtraps underground

Scientists didn’t expect the eggplant-shaped pitchers to be subterranean survivors

side-by-side images of pitcher plants growing under a moss matt and under tree roots

A pitcher plant discovered in a rainforest in Borneo uses underground traps grown under a moss mat (left) and in a cavity under tree roots (right) to catch prey.

M. Dančák et al/Phytokeys 2022

By Meghan Rosen

- More than 2 years ago

Read another version of this article at Science News Explores

Biologist Martin Dančák didn’t set out to find a plant species new to science.