When it comes to giant size, there’s no substitute for Nepenthes Rajah the world’s largest pitcher plant. He literally hiked up a Himalayan mountain to view a rare tropical pitcher plant, Nepenthes prutara spathacea, the largest known pitcher plant. This tall plant holds more than a gallon of aquatic water in its underground pitchers. Plants enthusiasts of all stripes and species appreciate this strange, yet beautiful carnivorous plant. Plants enthusiasts of all stripes and species also enjoy growing carnivorous plants- and admit the growers to be more offbeat than those plants they typically grow.

One cannot talk enough about the beauty of the Nepenthes spathacea, or “Rajah” plant. While many plants grow very tall, this one grows only to about four to five feet high. Its flowers range from small, two-petalled, pink, to showy, multi-colored; and the lacy purple or white flowers are encircled by a purple band of overlapping leaves. The single-petalled flesh of these carnivorous plants is covered with a cream, or yellowish, color; the flowers, however, are a pure yellow.

The flowers appear in April and May, and the pitchers bloom in May and June. These two months are the most popular for enthusiasts to grab a handful of these “plants-to-go” when visiting Hawaii. The taller plants hang down their upper lily pads to form the trap-like blossoms that seem to spring up from thin air. They can grow to more than five feet high, with the trap supporting a mass of weight. They can be found in a wide variety of habitats, including flood plains, roadsides, fields, along coastal sand beaches, on mountain slopes, and in dense forests.

A typical summer visitor to a local nursery may be surprised to find that a large number of Oahu pitchers have already sprouted from the soil, forming dense clumps along pathways. Some of these trees have up to nine different species of pitcher plants as parents. These species are usually referred to as “onychodiums,” due to their resemblance to the jellyfish, or congoid, which is a family of ciliates or sea lice.

There are several different species of carnivorous plants that prey on other types of pitcher traps. The “Tiger Barked Water Lily,” which has a greenish to purplish blooming appearance, is similar in looks to a water lily. In fact it is so closely related that some gardeners mistakenly call the two species “water lilies.” A few other common pitcher traps include the “Erigerant Angelfish,” the “Fur seal,” and the “Slaughter Fish.” The “Erigerant” variety was brought to Hawaii by early sugar plantation owners who needed an inexpensive way of killing fish. The plant was commonly given to whales to kill any small fish they happened to meet on the shores, and it became almost extinct in the 1940’s due to the tremendous amount of fishing boats that frequented the Hawaiian Islands.

The beautiful “Erigerant Angelfish” is one of the largest carnivorous pitcher plants. If you want to grow this plant in your garden, you will need to acquire three other species. These species of carnivorous plants are common, but not as easy to come by as the “Erigerant,” so you might want to try to locate them first. If you cannot find any of these species in your local nursery, look for them online. You can also contact several local gardeners and ask them about the availability of these species if they do not have any in their own gardens.

The second largest pitcher plant in the world is the “Aquilaria continentau,” which comes from the regions of central Brazil and Peru. This sarracenia species also happens to be the most expensive. This is another species that you should be careful of, because it does very poorly in captivity.

The last two plants in the top five are the “Erigerant,” and “Sarracenia purpurea.” Both of these plants are native to South America and are extremely hardy and adaptable. The sarracenias have only two large leaves, while the “Erigerant” has four. These plants do well in a range of conditions, including full sunlight, deep shade, and well drained soils. They do not like full sun and need to be planted in pots as opposed to being placed directly into a garden. They also like a lot of moisture, so do not over water your bog plants.