Alright, buckle up, peeps, ’cause in March 2019, the internet exploded with images of a plant that folks cheekily called the ‘penis flytrap.’ Yeah, you heard it right! It’s like a play on words, mixing the plant game with the famous Venus flytrap, and the whole thing gets downright cheeky with its resemblance to, well, you know, human female anatomy.
First things first, let’s check out what the original Venus flytrap looks like. You gotta know your basics, right?
Now, picture this – a plant that’s got a bit of a phallic vibe going on. This bad boy belongs to the Nepenthes genus and hangs out in the Philippines. The origin of the viral image is a mystery (cue the mysterious vibes), but guess what? Snopes, the fact-checking wizards, did their thing and said, “Yep, this pic’s legit.” They even went to Clinton Morse, the living plant collections manager at the University of Connecticut’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and he dropped this knowledge bomb:
“It’s definitely a Nepenthes species and totally looks like a legit image. All Nepenthes have a similar passive pitfall trap that develops with a closed trap, and as the trap matures, the ‘lid’ opens up. The pitchers in the attached image are just starting to open, giving them a rather phallic appearance. I’ve never heard of them being called ‘penis fly trap,’ but it is a rather accurate descriptive name.”
So, chances are, we’re talking about Nepenthes philippinensis, a tropical pitcher plant partying exclusively in the Philippines. It’s chilling on islands like Palawan, Calamian (that’s Busuanga, Coron, and Culion), and Linapacan, doing its thing at 0–600 meters above sea level.
Now, here’s the twist – this plant goes from a bit phallic (or what some folks described as ‘penile’) to a more mature, less suggestive look when its pit trap is fully grown and the lid swings open. That’s when the trap fills up with water, playing the ultimate insect-catching game. The plant scavenges nutrients from the decaying insect bodies, living its best carnivorous life, as detailed in a wild 1999 review of the genus’ meat-eating behavior.
So, if you’re out exploring the mountains of the Philippines, chances are you’ll come across this plant – in both its cheeky and more mature phases. Nature is wild, y’all!
