The plant was discovered in 1907 but it was not until 1979 that it was shown to be carnivorous. The name Triphyophyllum describes the three distinct leaf types the plant produces over its lifetime. It is during the second stage of growth, when the leaves become glandular, that carnivore is suspected. Triphyophyllum grows only in west Africa ( Sierra Leone, Liberia & Ivory Coast )

This plant like is on the verge of extinction, mainly due to man-made interference.
As this plant is so rare in the wild, samples in cultivation are even more so.
There is little literature on the plant, and subsequently few details.

What is known is that the three stages of growth are as follows:

1. The first stage is juvenile growth, where a woody stem up to 1 metre (3ft) high is produced with lance-shaped, normal-looking leaves
2. The second stage is similar to the juvenile stage, but glandular leaves are produced which stand near-vertical. These are the carnivorous leaves.
3. The third stage is a huge climbing stem up to 46 metres (150ft) high, with Nepenthes-like leaves without the pitchers.

• Royal Botanic Gardens Kew article on DNA research into Triphyophyllum which shows it is related to the families Droseraceae and Nepenthaceae. Also a line drawing of the climbing phase.
• French Site with brief notes on Triphyophyllum and a photograph of the juvenile phase. You may wish to use a free web page translator like Google! to read the page.
• Photo Gallery with a few photos of Triphyophyllum in juvenile and climbing stem stages.
• There are more photo's and details coming all the time as plant collectors try and find them to grow.
• I do not know of any one in the UK that grows this plant at this time.

   Triphyophyllum  peltatum