Nepenthes gracilis

Soh Kam Yung expressed his pleasure at seeing a pitcher plant in the wild (as opposed to seeing them planted by garden shops). This is a Slender Pitcher-Plant (Nepenthes gracilis), spotted while walking along the boardwalk at MacRichie Reservoir Park on 27 May 2022.

Interesting snippets:  Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants which trap insects inside the pitcher.  The insects slide down the slippery sides and are then digested by enzymes secreted inside the pitchers. This is a feeding strategy deployed by these plants which thrive in poor soil conditions. Nepenthes ampullaria and Nepenthes rafflesiana are more in demand as plant pets and thus are less often encountered. Well-informed readers always take away photographic memories and leave the pitchers to grow in their natural habitats.

References:

1. Pitcher plants at Tuas wetland https://besgroup.org/2007/08/04/tuas-another-wetland-reclaimed/
2. Biodiversity of Singapore: An encyclopedia of the Natural Environment and Sustainable Development © 2011 Edited by: Peter KL Ng, Richard T. Corlett and Hugh T. W. Tan

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