There are even discussions on genome studies and the biotechnology, propagation, and pharmaceutical interests of carnivorous plants, along with a complete, tabulated listing of all the known families, genera, and species; the Droseraceae,
Nepenthaceae, and Lentibulariaceae are by far the larger of twelve families.
The two major groups are the
Nepenthaceae (Old World) and Sarraceniaceae (New World).
The Nepenthes, popularly known as tropical pitcher plants, Pitchel-pitchelan or monkey cups, are a group of carnivorous plants in the monotypic family
Nepenthaceae. The name monkey cups refers to the fact that monkeys have been observed drinking rainwater from these plants.
Similar examples occur in Begonia (Kunze, 1986; McLellan, 1993) and in climbing plants such as the fern genera Lomagramma, Lygodium, and Teratophyllum, and members of the flowering plant genera Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae), Ficus (Moraceae), Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae), Nepenthes (
Nepenthaceae), Passiflora (Passifloraceae), Triphyophyllum (Dioncophyllaceae), Hoya (Apocynaceae), Marcgravia (Marcgraviaceae), Metrosideros (Myrtaceae), and Piper (Piperaceae), among others (Green et al., 1979; Lee & Richards, 1991; Jones, 1993).
Nevertheless, there have been numerous new species described during the period of this review and I note here some which have caught my eye (this is by no means an exhaustive list): Nepenthes chaniana (
Nepenthaceae; Clarke et al.