LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- Botanists believe they have discovered one of the world 's largest carnivorous plants in Southeast Asia . Nepenthes northiana - the carnivorous pitcher plant prepares to tuck into a rat . The giant pitcher plants were located on Mount Victoria in Palawan , central Philippines by a team led by UK botanist Stewart McPherson . The second largest species , now called Nepenthes attenboroughii , has been named in honor of the UK 's world-renowned natural history presenter Sir David Attenborough . The new discovery measures up to 30 centimeters in diameter and is formed by a tendril which inflates into a large cup-shaped trap . McPherson told CNN : `` Around the mouth of the pitcher are secretions of nectar which attracts insects and small animals . The rim has lots of waxy downward-pointing ridges which help prey fall directly into the pitcher . `` The pitchers are half full of a liquid consisting of acids and enzymes which help break down its prey . '' The insectivorous , sometimes carnivorous diet is crucial for the plants ' survival says McPherson . `` These plants grow in really harsh areas where soil quality is very poor -- often pure gravel or sand . Catching insects allows the plant to augment nutrients that it otherwise would n't have access to . '' McPherson along with his colleagues Alastair Robinson and Volker Heinrich have discovered more than 20 new varieties of pitcher plant in recent expeditions and have also made two rediscoveries . One of those rediscoveries , Nepenthes deaniana , was first recorded in 1907 but was subsequently lost when the Philippine National Herbarium in Manila was bombed towards the end of World War II . McPherson and his team believe they are the first explorers to observe the plant in the wild in over a century . The Nepenthes deaniana produces a spectacular , football-sized , red pitchers that are large enough to catch insects and small animals . In many of the traps , McPherson 's team found giant centipedes and 10 centimeter-long spiders . The Botanical Society of America says that there are around 600 species of pitcher plants . Most familiar , perhaps , is the Venus Flytrap . But bigger species like the Nepenthes attenboroughii , Nepenthes northaina and the world 's largest known pitcher plant , Nepenthes rajah are able to capture animals as large as rats , as can be clearly seen in the picture above . `` These plants have evolved to catch insects . But on rare occasions they do catch rats and mice . The first reports of these plants catching rats was made in the 19th century by a British explorer called Spenser St John , '' McPherson said .
Botanists believe they have discovered one of the world 's largest carnivorous plants . Nepenthes attenboroughii is named after nature presenter Sir David Attenborough . Pitcher plants can capture mice and rats and then digest them .