Looking equal parts pitcher plant and Jurassic Park, a giant rat-eating plant was discovered in the Philippines.

The BBC describes the newly discovered species as a new kind of pitcher plant. And this one is evidently “among the largest of all pitchers and is so big that it can catch rats as well as insects in its leafy trap.” Which makes it a pretty mean carnivorous plant–it catches insects, rodents, and other small animals in its tubes as they tumble down into them. The plant then closes its tube, trapping the prey inside.

Pretty cool. [ Treehugger ]