Malaysia’s diverse climate and geography form ideal habitats for Nepenthes, which are better known here as ‘periuk kera’. These animal-eating pitcher plants which lures unsuspecting prey with its sweet nectar, has evolved to thrive in nutrient-poor soils, and is a sought after plant by collectors. This and other human activities, ranging from habitat destruction to poaching to fuel illicit trade of pitcher plants, drives the Nepenthes to the brink of endangerment. One of the ways conservationists are responding to these threats is by making pitcher plants so common that their allure in the wild diminishes, borrowing from the late Australian botanist Allen Lowrie's strategy to “make them as common as muck”. The focus of two new articles by online journalism portal Macaranga, we speak to contributing writers Ashley Yeong and Bryan Yong, and Editor, Wong Siew Lyn, to discover more about Nepenthes, and to discuss how Malaysia is trying to protect our own pitcher plants from extinction. 

Image credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Juliet Jacobs

Presented by: Juliet Jacobs

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Categories:  Law/Activism,  environment

Tags:  nepenthes,  pitcher plants,  periuk kera,  illegal trade of plants,  plant extinction,  plant collecting,  conservation through cultivation,  the bigger picture,  earth matters,  poaching,  conservation,  biodiversity,