{"id":25962,"date":"2023-03-20T14:35:21","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T13:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=75525"},"modified":"2023-03-20T15:35:41","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T14:35:41","slug":"nepenthes-lowii-the-plant-that-likes-to-be-used-as-a-toilet","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/nepenthes-lowii-the-plant-that-likes-to-be-used-as-a-toilet\/","title":{"rendered":"Nepenthes lowii: the plant that likes to be used as a toilet"},"content":{"rendered":"

They\u2019re like toilets on a stick \u2013 for tree shrews. Meet Nepenthes lowii, the world\u2019s only known plant that actively collects and consumes poo. <\/p>

By BBC Wildlife Magazine\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 20 March 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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What is\u00a0 the Nepenthes lowii?<\/i><\/span><\/h2>\n

Commonly called Low\u2019s pitcher plant, this faeces fan is found on Borneo\u2019s mountain peaks. It begins life as a normal meat-eating vine, with ground-level pitchers that trap and digest ants and other arthropods. But after maturing and snaking up a tree, it develops a taste for faeces and grows a new type of trap that looks \u2013 and functions \u2013 a lot like a loo.<\/span><\/p>\n

What does the Nepenthes lowii look like?<\/i><\/span><\/h2>\n

Funnel-shaped, with a permanently open lid slathered in buttery nectar, the pitcher attracts a regular patron with a sweet tooth \u2013 the mountain tree shrew. The funnel itself is wide and shallow \u2013 an ideal place for a shrew to defecate while dining. With its customer\u2019s backside positioned directly above its mouth, the pitcher catches any droppings.<\/span><\/p>\n

This rather clever adaptation earns the plant a continuous and abundant supply of nourishment in a nutrient-poor habitat. Biologists estimate that 57 to 100 per cent of the plant\u2019s nitrogen intake comes from shrew poo.<\/span><\/p>\n

What does the Nepenthes lowii<\/i> do for shrews?<\/span><\/h2>\n

But it\u2019s a two-way street, since the plant produces plenty of sap \u2013 more than any other species in its range. Moreover, the shrew cannot digest fibre \u2013 it simply chews the flesh of fruits to extract the juices \u2013 making N. lowii<\/i>\u2019s syrup-glazed pitchers that much more important.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, it\u2019s a win-win situation, an exchange of vital nutrients \u2013 even if one is eating loads of, well, you-know-what.<\/span><\/p>\n

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