Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Nepenthes hemsleyana
References
Britannica AI Icon

Nepenthes hemsleyana

plant
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

Nepenthes hemsleyana is a species of carnivorous pitcher plant belonging to the genus Nepenthes. These plants are native to Madagascar, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Nepenthes species are perennial herbaceous plants that grow in acidic soil and capture insects and other prey using modified, pitcher-shaped leaves that act as pitfall traps. Prey is lured by nectar, then slips into the pitcher, drowns, and is digested by enzymes. This carnivory supplements nutrient intake in poor soil conditions. Specifically, N. hemsleyana has an elongated pitcher that provides shelter for Hardwicke's woolly bat and collects its guano for nutrients.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
2 Britannica Sources
  1. Nepenthes
  2. pitcher plant

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.