The Cambodian Government Had To Beg People To Stop Picking Ultra-Rare ‘Penis Plants’
Adobe StockThe endangered Nepenthes bokorensis, a phallic-shaped pitcher plant native to Cambodia.
Nepenthes bokorensis is a pitcher plant species endemic to Cambodia. It’s colloquially known as a “penis plant” or, alarmingly, a “penis flytrap.” They are “critically endangered” — but they also apparently make nice bouquets.
These phallic blooms are so popular for tourists’ selfies, in fact, that the Cambodian Ministry of Environment published a plea on Facebook asking people to stop picking the plants for photos. “What they are doing is wrong and please don’t do it again in the future!” the post read. “Thank you for loving natural resources, but don’t harvest so it goes to waste!”
N. bokorensis lives in low-nutrient soil and relies heavily on its pitcher to draw in prey, which it then drowns with its digestive fluids, giving the plant the nutrients it needs to survive.
Tourists who pluck the pitchers inadvertently weaken the plant, which has already suffered severe damage to its natural habitat due to private construction, farming, and the tourism industry.
“If people are interested, even in a funny way, to pose, to make selfies with the plants, it’s fine,” said François Mey, a botanical illustrator. “Just do not pick the pitchers because it weakens the plant, because the plant needs these pitchers to feed.”
