PITCHER OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 327 



is furnislied with sliort hairs pointing inwards ; it contains a 

 viscid fluid which entices flies to enter, and in consequence of 

 the hairs pointing downwards they are imprisoned, in some 

 cases filling the pitchers half full of dead insect-matter. It is a 

 common custom to place the pitchers in dwelling-houses as fly- 

 traps. The whole of the pitcher is of a dingy orange colour, 

 marked with strong veins ; the flowers are solitary and droop- 

 ing on the apex of the flower-stalk, 2, 3, or 4 feet high, and 

 wdien fully expanded are about 2 inches in diameter, straw- 

 coloured. 



Pitcher Plant, Guiana {Rdiamijlwra nutans), a perennial 

 herb of the same family as the preceding, the leaves of which 

 rise from a crowned root-stock tubular, in the form of a vase 

 with an oblique mouth, the inside lined with glandular hairs. 

 Flowers, generally more than one, are produced on an erect 

 stalk, white or pale rose colour. It is a native of Guiana, 

 growing in marshes and muddy places. 



Pitcher Plant, Indian (Nepenthes), the only genus of the 

 family Nepenthaceoe. It contains about 20 known species of 

 smooth, slender -stemmed, trailing or climbing plants, holding 

 by their twisted leaf-stalks. They have alternate leaves, each of 

 which is formed of three distinct parts, the lower part in the 

 form of a strap-like leaf, with a thick midrib, varying in lengtli 

 in the different species from a few to even 12 or 18 inches, and 

 in breadth from an inch to a foot ; from the apex of this leafy 

 part the midrib is prolonged in the form of a foot-stalk, varying 

 from a few to 20 inches in length. This midrib performs the 

 part of a tendril, from the apex of which rises a variously-formed 

 vessel, ranging in size from a few inches to a foot in length 

 and 6 inches in diameter, capable of holding more than a quart 

 of water (iV. Bajali). This is called the pitcher, and in its 

 early state is closed with a lid, which ultimately opens, the 

 pitcher having an exact resemblance to a water-jug w^ith a lid. 

 As already stated, the pitchers vary considerably in size and 

 form, and are either plain or furnished with wing-like append- 

 ages on one side, the whole being green, or, as in N. Rafflcsiana, 



