Plants that eat mice!!

Although there are thousands of species of carnivorous plants, few have developed traps big enough to process small rodents. Most of those species belong in the genus Nepenthes.


It all started in a botanical garden in Lyon, France. Visitors reported a smell from the plant and they found the cause…

Nepenthes truncata is the species of plant that caught the mouse and it is fit to do so. Its pitchers are over a foot long and sturdy enough for a mouse to stand on. There is a video on YouTube that shows a capture of a mouse by a Nepenthes spathulata, a similar sized plant.



Despite this a special recognition goes to Nepenthes rajah, the biggest carnivorous plant in the world. This massive plant produces two foot long pitchers that can hold a gallon of digestive fluid. This is one of the only species that are able to catch rats.

A recent discovery, however, shatters Nepenthes rajah’s reputation for the only rat eating plant. Nepenthes attenboroughii named after David Attenborough who helped created many documentaries on BBC.

So next time you go into a rainforest, or even a botanical garden, watch where you step!