pitcher plant – סלומה

The
Hardwicke’s woolly bat will roost inside of carnivorous pitcher plants,
where it provides the plant with nutrients (guano) in exchange for
shelter.

Nepenthes ventrata.

Chilean carnivorous plant could kill you
Studies of the components of the Chilean species, Aristolochia chilensis
confirmed the damage attributed to the ingestion of aristolochic acid
in plants of the genus Aristolochia, plant and component consumed as
“natural medicine” throughout the world.

Aristolochic acids are responsible for causing major
damage than caused by smoke nicotine or ultraviolet radiation in
relation to its ability to produce multiple mutations in hundreds or
even thousands of genes, many more than any other carcinogen. These
qualities led him to become the “greatest genotoxic agent discovered" the danger of the compounds can cause mutations associated with tumors of the urinary tract, kidneys and liver.

The aristolochic acid has been – and continues to be – used for the
treatment of eczema, acne, liver symptoms, arthritis, and chronic pain.

Reference: Ling
Poon, 2013 Genome-Wide Mutational Signatures of Aristolochic Acid and
Its Application as a Screening Tool. Sci Transl Med 7 August 2013.
Photo: Diego Almendras

One of the 39 species of Pitcher plants, Nepenthes sp. (Caryophyllales – Nepenthaceae), known in Borneo. Only the Philippines has more known species (45). Photo source.