Carnivorous plants are magical. They challenge our pre-conceived notions of what a plant should be like. One group of carnivorous plants that I have the joy of growing once again are Nepenthes. Savage and primordial, these botanical beasts never cease to amaze me.

A few years ago, I was inspired to shoot Nepenthes under 254nm UV light. Even in “darkness”, these plants shine. (There’s something kinda metaphorically significant about that — especially with all that is currently going on.) Visible light, or what our eyes can perceive, only occupies a small fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum. I can’t help but imagine what insects see. What if we could see in other wavelengths, like UV? What would these plants look like? They already look so otherworldly and alien. Seeing them glow blue is almost unreal. It makes them just that much more beautifully ferocious.

A few photos below, enjoy!

(By the way, some archived UV posts here: http://thepitcherplantproject.com/archive/tag/uv-light/)

I am so thankful for those that have helped me in this crazy plant journey. After an unfortunate accident, I pretty much lost the entire Nep collection earlier this year. (2020… what a year.) There was a very small handful that I kept with me through the moves that survived. Good news is that the greenhouse that I’ve been working on is finished (more on this later), and now I have a proper space to grow them. I am so thankful for the many kind and generous growers that have helped me get back to growing these wonderful plants. I deeply appreciate you all!