Weird Animal Question of the Week: What's the Biggest Killer Plant?

Some meat-eating plants are big enough to digest a small mammal.

With Halloween around the corner, it's as good a time as any to take a closer look at carnivorous plants.

We used author's prerogative to ask our Weird Animal Question of the Week about the coolest facts on meat-eating flora, which Darwin called "the most wonderful in the world."

"Everyone loves carnivorous plants," said Aaron Ellison, a senior research fellow at Harvard Forest (the university's ecological research area) and an expert in killer flora.

The biggest, he said, may be the endangered Nepenthes rajah of Borneo. "It could eat a good-sized rat or small mammal." (See more pictures of killer plants.)

Insects and other prey are lured by the plant's scent, but slip off the waxy surface into the

DON'T MISS THE REST OF THIS STORY!
Create a free account to continue and get unlimited access to hundreds of Nat Geo articles, plus newsletters.

Create your free account to continue reading

No credit card required. Unlimited access to free content.
Or get a Premium Subscription to access the best of Nat Geo - just $19
SUBSCRIBE

Read This Next

'World’s worst shipwreck' was bloodier than we thought
World’s first ultrasounds of wild manta rays reveal a troubling truth
Titanic was found during secret Cold War Navy mission

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet