Some may have overlooked visiting the garden located at Taman Eko-Rimba Kledang Saiong (TERKS), Meru Raya.
The Nepenthes Garden operated by the State Forestry Department (JPNPk) started in 2014 and was launched on January 1, 2016. It is also an international research and study centre relating to carnivorous wild plants.
Three existing pitcher plant gardens around the globe are located in Britain, Germany and Australia, but Nepenthes Garden in TERKS possesses its own uniqueness due to it being the first to utilise natural habitual methods in planting multiple species of plants.
The garden houses 70 different species of pitcher plants, comprising 55 endemic species and 15 hybrid species from around the world. These are high-valued and controlled species.
The pitcher plants seal insects and form ‘stomachs’ in which the digestion occurs and the prey is transformed into nutrients for the plant.
One of the few interesting species available here is the ‘nepenthes bicalcarata’, an endemic species from the Borneo Islands. This species can be easily found in peat swamp forests along the west coasts of Borneo, covering Sabah, Sarak, Brunei and Kalimantan, Indonesia.
The nepenthes bicalcarata has a population distribution in lands up to 300 metres above sea level. It’s also the largest nepenthes species. An adult plant could grow leaves as long as a metre.
Another species, the ‘nepenthes clipeata’ originating from Kalimantan, is one of the most expensive species due to it being extremely difficult to be extracted from its original location.
An interesting fact about the liquid contained in certain pitcher plants’ ‘stomach’, is that they could be consumed as a medicinal herbal remedy to cure skin and eye diseases.
A ticket to enter the Nepenthes Garden costs RM2 for visitors aged 18 and above. Visitors aged between 7 to 17 and senior citizens can enter free of charge.
Operation hours: 8.30am to 4.30pm daily
(8.30am to 12.30pm, 2.30pm to 4.30pm on Fridays)