E-Wen Hooi: Pitcher Plants at the English Garden @ RW Genting

What do Angelina Jolie, Ning Baizurah and Pitcher plants have in common? Nope, it is neither their voices nor their singing career but their thick luscious lips! Nepenthes or the Pitcher plant is a unique plant that takes shape of a pitcher (jug) and thus its name. This plant which they call periuk kera in malay is carnivorous which means it eats other smaller animals that gets trapped in its cup. It was enough to pique my curiosity and so up the mountain I went.

Pitcher plants can be very colourful

The next time you go to Genting Highlands, don't just settle for the occasional exposure to the chill near the hotel lobby door. YOLO! Put yourself out in the mist and enjoy the cold. Hang out at the English Garden just next to the Theme Park Hotel. Other than being a charming little place to relax, the English Garden is also a place for Pitcher plant cultivation by Treks.

While going up to Genting Highlands, observe the home of Nepenthes below the cable car

It was beautifully misty

The trees that you catch sight of at Genting is from the Chocolate Forest (Montane Ericaceous Forest, 6000 ft above sea level) Because of its altitude, its temperature is low enough for the Pitcher plant to thrive. The temperature of the Chocolate Forest is due to the clouds. So literally, it is a walk in the clouds!

Reached the Chocolate Forest

When there is a landscape that looks like a place in Switzerland, you can bet that there was no stopping at photo taking! So we clicked and selfied to our hearts content! Every corner was perfect for a profile pic backdrop.

Feeling close to heaven with scenery like this

Need a hug hug

Brown is beautiful in the Chocolate Forest

While the scenery was breathtaking enough to nearly distract from the main purpose of the visit, the Pitcher plants did not lose its allure.

Interesting facts about the Pitcher plants:

If you peer into the belly of the Pitcher plant, there is liquid inside. It is called nectar- a sweet-smelling juice that attracts little animals and insects.
Once the insect/ animal has fallen inside, it is difficult for it to climb back up due to the structures of the pores on the wall. Small frogs, lizards and snakes can fall victim of the seemingly harmless plant.
The nectar dissolves and digests the prey trapped inside. The plants draw nutrients from it.
The leaf that looks like a detached lid is used to control the amount of rain entering the plant.
These plants are so beautiful that it is made the national flower of a province in Canada- Newfoundland and Labrador
The pitcher plant is also been used to cook lemang lately in Ramadhan bazaars in Malaysia and has become a big fashionable hit.
Pitcher plants will not eat humans.

Arranging the pitcher plant at the trellis

Peering inside the stomach of the Pitcher Plant

Pitcher plants that were cultivated from the wild

And the photo taking at the English Garden continues...

Pretty English Garden

Romantic bench

When Genting starts to plant human heads

Frosty and beautiful

Every corner is a good backdrop at the English Garden

Perambulating at the garden

The English Garden is a hidden gem that is worth a visit. It is the sort of place that you may have chanced upon but unaware of its significance. Its romantic and beautiful landscape will make you want to linger a little longer outdoors, appreciating the chill all together. Getting up close and personal with the Pitcher plants on the trellis is something that even I did not know I enjoyed until I came face to face with it. A rare sight and even more extraordinary, its beauty.