Nepenthes is a perennial vine, its stem is quite thick, its diameter can exceed 5 cm, its length exceeds 10 m, and some species can even exceed 20 m. Nepenthes can cling to nearby shrubs or trees or crawl on the ground. On the stem of Nepenthes, each node will contain a growing point near the petiole, which usually presents a small protrusion, but it will not germinate. This is because the bud at the top of the plant has apical dominance, which will inhibit the germination of its lower lateral buds. If pitcher plants lose their terminal buds due to accidental injury or artificial pruning, the lateral buds closest to the terminal buds will begin to germinate and grow. Sometimes, the newly germinated lateral buds are not big enough to inhibit other lateral buds at the lower end. At this time, when Nepenthes lose its terminal buds, sometimes many lateral buds begin to germinate. If the lateral buds grow large enough, other lateral buds that have not germinated will be inhibited and cannot germinate. The stems of Nepenthes will show different characteristics due to different positions. The stems near the surface of the earth have short internodes, and the distribution of leaves is similar to that of whorls, and these petioles will produce low-level bottles. If a pitcher plant only produces low-level bottles, after several years of life, the stem that originally produced only low-level bottles will be transformed into the stem that produced high-level bottles; The stem that produces the high-level bottle will begin to change differently, and the distance between its nodes will increase a lot, which will make the stem more elongated, help the plant to grow upwards, and the arrangement of leaves will become alternate. The stem that produces the high-level bottle will produce the flower stem, which can also be said that the stem of the high-level bottle has been climbing upward to make the flowers bloom in the sun. After the flower fades, the stem can continue to grow upward; There are flowering stems that will bloom in the next few years. During this period, the base of Nepenthes sometimes produces lateral branches, called tiller. Because Nepenthes has grown very tall and accumulated a lot of nutrients, the lateral branches from the base will quickly produce huge petioles and low-level bottles. In a few years, the side branch that produced the low bottle also began to grow the high bottle, and so on and so on. Finally, a pitcher plant will grow into a large cluster. The trunk of Nepenthes growing for many years will be quite thick, and more than a dozen lateral branches will be produced on the trunk near the soil surface, so the whole Nepenthes can grow very huge, with hundreds of petioles and hundreds of bottles. Nepenthes, which have been growing for many years, are often seen in the country of origin, producing huge low-level bottles near the surface, while many high-level bottles are hung from the stems clinging to the trees. However, in gardening, pitcher plants may not grow huge because of artificial pruning or frequent cutting, and because the cultivation time is not long enough, they cannot produce stems of high-level bottles, but only low-level bottles and cannot bloom. The leaves of pitcher plants are actually petioles; A real leaf is a bottle-shaped insect trap formed at the end of the petiole. The petiole of Nepenthes is usually oval to arrow-shaped, with a length of 10cm-25cm and a width of 4ccm-8cm. There is a thick vein on the petiole, which finally passes through the petiole and becomes tendril. Tendril can be used to cling to other objects, so that Nepenthes can grow high. A bottle-shaped insect trap will be formed at the end of the tendrils. Nepenthes leaves are alternate, and its petiole is usually green or yellow-green, and the texture of petiole can be further divided into paper and wax; Paper petioles are sometimes covered with a layer of fine hair, while waxy petioles are hairless. Usually a petiole will only produce a bottle. If the bottle is old, withered or damaged for some reason, the original petiole will not grow a new bottle, and only the new petiole will grow a new bottle. The bottle of pitcher plants comes from the end of tendrils. When a petiole newly grows, the tendrils at the end have a bottle bud. At the beginning, the surface of this bud is covered with a layer of fine hairs, which will gradually disappear during the growth process. The bud of the bottle is brown and flat at first. When it grows to 1~2 cm long, it gradually turns green and begins to swell. Before the bottle cap is opened, the bottle will produce its unique color, pattern and spots, and the bottle will soon mature; After the bottle cap is opened, the lip of the bottle mouth will turn outwards and begin to show color. At this time, the bottle matures faster and insects can be caught in a few days. Nepenthes can produce two kinds of bottles. Petiole near the surface will produce a lower pitcher, and an upper pitcher will be produced at the top of the plant. Low-level bottles are fatter, rounder and larger in appearance. On the surface of the bottle, there are often two parallel wing extending from the mouth of the bottle and converging downwards at the bottom of the bottle. The stems that produce low-level bottles usually have short internodes, and the arrangement of their leaves will be radial, or look like a wheel. The tendrils of the low bottle are very short, and they are not very good at clinging to other objects. Stems far from the surface will produce high bottles. The tendrils of the petiole of the high bottle are longer, and at the same time, other objects will be attached to make the plant grow upward. Another feature of the tendrils of the high-level bottle is that if it doesn't cling to anything, it will still roll itself into a tendril loop, and then the bottle will grow. The shape of the high-level bottle has also changed greatly. Compared with the low-level bottle, the bottle body is longer and smaller, and the wings are less obvious. Some varieties of high-level bottles will be smoother in color than their low-level bottles. Because Nepenthes can produce bottles of different shapes, it often causes confusion in classification, which makes people mistakenly think that Nepenthes are two different varieties. Nepenthes hybrida is a dioecious plant, so it is necessary to have two plants of different sexes to pollinate. In the wild, the number of Nepenthes is about 70% for males and 30% for females. Because Nepenthes grows in low latitudes, there is no obvious difference between the four seasons, so Nepenthes can bloom all year round, as long as the stems of high-altitude bottles can be formed, it is possible to bloom. The inflorescence of Nepenthes belongs to the raceme of infinite inflorescences. From the top of the stem, a * * * floral axis with a length of about 20 to 30 cm is drawn, and many small flowers with almost equal pedicels are planted on it, and the number may range from a dozen to hundreds. Bloom's order starts at the bottom and ends with the topmost flower. Every little flower has no petals, and those structures that look like petals are actually calyx; Each floret contains 4 calyx. The male flower contains a stamen, and its anther is covered with a layer of yellow pollen; The female flower contains a pistil, and the stigma of the pistil is green and sticky, which is used to stick pollen. Nepenthes usually transmit pollen by wind, but the calyx of its small flowers secretes nectar, which can attract insects to pollinate. When female flowers are pollinated, their ovaries begin to expand and turn brown; When the fruit is ripe, it will crack and release hundreds of tiny seeds, which will drift away with the wind. The flowers of Nepenthes don't have any ornamental value. The flowers are small and flat, and only a few kinds of flowers are bright. In addition, the flowers of Nepenthes will give off a bad smell.