Nepenthes Alata and Nepenthes Rebecca Soper

Pronounced: nuh·pen·theez

These are both carnivorous pitcher plants! Each new pitcher or "monkey cup" can collect numerous insects that it attracts with its unique nectar and converts those digested insects into fertilizer. Excellent inside your home, very easy and forgiving. It is a vining plant and will do well by the window sill.

Please ensure that the soil is always kept moist and the pitchers have some water in them. However, make sure they are no more than 50% full of water. Failure to produce pitchers indicates that the plant isn't receiving adequate light, humidity, or water issues.

History

Nepethes are a tropical pitcher plant native to parts of South East Asia, India, Madagascar, and Australia. Most are vines, but some remain compact in growth habit. The name "Monkey Cups" comes from monkeys occasionally drinking the fluid in the pitchers. The pitcher is actually a swelling of the mid-vein in the leaf.