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Carnivorous Plant declared new species
A plant that eats meat has been declared a new species seven years after its debut at the Chelsea Flower show. The plant, which is known as "The Queen of Hearts" and eats frogs and rats, has won several awards from the Royal Horticultural Society.
The plant was discovered in Borneo in the late 1980s. It operates in a way similar to the human stomach, using hydrochloric acid and enzymes to break down its food. Some of its flowers are 2.5 metres long, making it one of largest carnivorous plants in the world.
According to The Independent, the plant's discovery was not normally how a new species is found.
Dr Martin Cheek of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, Surrey, was shown the plant's leaves and some photographs.
"It is not normally how new species are discovered," he said.
"It is very unconventional and a great surprise. But when I was presented with this material after the Chelsea Flower Show it didn't take me long to work out this was new to science.'
"The plants are big and dramatic and are quite spectacular."
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