N. rajah
drosera@gnu.ai.mit.edu
Sun, 24 Oct 93 23:30:18 -0400
>Okay... I have to ask... What the hell is N.rajah? Why the hoopla?
>What's the big deal? I have never heard of this plant, but everybody
>else has. Exactly what am I missing?
>
_Nepenthes rajah_ is the species with the largest pitchers. It is VERY
rare in nature, growing only in a few locations at high altitudes on
Mount Kinabalu in Borneo. It is one of two species (the other is
_N. khasiana_) that are on the CITES appendix I list of the most threatened
species. Before tissue culture, only a few years ago, this species was being
sold on the black market for $10,000 per plant! Almost as bad as people who
steal others' plants, are those who have money to burn and will buy rare
plants at any price - when you get up into those high amounts of money
for a single species, the chance is great that the plant was
collected from nature. I hear the Saguaro cactus is in a similar position
presently. There are reports that some collectors in Japan will pay big money
for a Saguaro - something like $1000 per foot!