v.] REMARKABLE LEAVES. 73 
Perhaps the most remarkable development of leaves 
is to be found in those of the te There 
are various kinds of these 
pitchers, differing widely as 
to form, but agreeing in their 
leaves being receptacles for 
water. One of the _ best 
known is the WVesenthes; there 
are about twenty different 
species of it known, most of 
them inhabiting the swampy 
grounds of the East Indies, J 
China, and the Malay Archi- oie iy 
pelago. The pitchers in this genus are simply appen- 
dages to the mid-rib of the leaf, which is drawn out 
considerably beyond the blade, and a gland at the 
extremity of it is developed into a hollow vessel with 
a hinged lid. This “pitcher” contains a liquid which 
has been found on analysis to consist of binoxalate 
ef potash, and, according to some chemists, muriate 
of soda and malic acid. The accompanying cuts 
illustrate the two forms of pitchers found among the 
Nepenthaceg. Fig. 79 is the funnel-shaped pitcher 
from the upper leaves of WV. dzstillatoria, from Ceylon. 
Fig. 80 is the ampulla form of WV. Chelsonz. The rich 
brown mottling of this form is very beautiful. The 
liquid serves to drown insects which have innocently 
sought shelter in the cool . essel, and there is no doubt 
that their decaying bodies are of service in nourishing 
the plant, as in the insectivorous plants mentioned in 
Chapter IV. It is, indeed, there that a description of 
these plants would properly have come in, but as 
