What is the largest confirmed carnivorous plant species?

Triphyophyllum peltatum is the largest confirmed carnivorous plant species. Its exceptional size comes from its adult form: a tropical liana whose stem can eventually reach about 50 metres in length and 10 centimetres in thickness.

The species is unusual because carnivory is only one phase of its life cycle. Young plants begin with simple, lance-shaped leaves. When phosphorus is scarce, they can produce specialized glandular leaves that trap insects; later, the mature plant develops ordinary leaves and climbs as a vine.

This flexible strategy is called facultative carnivory. Unlike many familiar pitcher plants and sundews, T. peltatum does not remain carnivorous throughout its entire visible growth cycle. Its three distinct leaf stages also explain the genus name, derived from Greek elements meaning “three-leaved.”

“Largest” here refers to the largest confirmed carnivorous plant overall, not the biggest trap or pitcher. Nepenthes rajah and other pitcher plants may be famous for enormous individual traps, but T. peltatum’s full plant body is the benchmark in this comparison.