Monkey Cup Plant

AS CURIOUS AS ITS NAME

The Monkey Cup Plant, also known as Nepenthes or the Tropical Pitcher Plant, is really peculiar, isn’t it? This is a plant everyone will ask about, so here’s a little interesting information: monkeys sometimes sip from the pitcher-like leaf swellings in places like Sumatra and India. And while monkeys (and people!) can get up close and personal to appreciate them, insects attracted to the nectar and bright colors of the pitchers are swallowed up and digested by the trap.

Like the Venus FlyTrap, this carnivorous plant likes things humid and moist (but well drained) and prefers a sunny spot in a terrarium or even in the window of a steamy bathroom or laundry room. You can always mist, too. Yours will feed itself with insects (they love stink bugs), but you can supplement with slightly diluted orchid food occasionally throughout the summer months.