Nepenthes ampullaria Jack
Flask-shaped Pitcher Plant / Sumboi-sumboi/Periok kera/Periok ambok (Bru.)
Description
Traditional Medicinal Uses
Ecology
Propagation
Distribution
Precaution
Terrestrial pitcher plant that can climb up to 15 m tall. Leaves are simple, forming a rosette, light green, sessile, thickly leathery, short and broad. Leaf blade is lanceolate to spatulate, attenuate at base with entire margin. Stems are light brown, cylindrical. Pitchers are produced at the ends of short tendrils. The lower pitchers are urn- shaped, quite small, usually green with maroon or pale pink flecks. The upper pitchers are broadly funnel- shaped. Peristomes are flattened while the lids are narrowly oblanceolate.
The local healers believed this herb can strengthen the body by soaking seven plucks of the whole herb into warm water as herbal bath. The herb can also be eaten as salad to maintain general health. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities are observed in the
It thrives on relatively wet habitats such as swamps, on forest margins, along roadsides or clearings. It prefers damp soil under full sunlight to shade.
Seeds and stem cutting.
Native to Borneo, the Maluku Islands, New Guinea, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and Thailand.
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