Groups of an endangered carnivorous plant may be moved to avoid being wiped out by Disneyland and related projects.
Nepenthes, or pitcher plants, were yesterday examined at Penny's Bay, Lantau by Friends of the Earth.
The plants were discovered on a hillside behind a shipyard which will be scrapped to make way for a water recreation centre, roads and railways adjacent to Disneyland.
Pitcher plants, listed as endangered and protected worldwide, have been moved once before - for the construction of Chek Lap Kok.
Found in tropical and subtropical regions, they supplement their nutrition by catching and consuming insects or even frogs in bigger species.
The plant is shaped like a lidded pitcher. Nectar is secreted on the lips of the pitcher to attract insects, which slide down the slippery surface and are drowned and digested in the fluid at the bottom of the plant. Only one species has been found in Hong Kong - Nepenthes mirabilis, which are mostly knee-high and eat insects such as ants and flies. Officials conducting environmental impact assessments on the Disney and Northshore Lantau development projects will be required to study ways to protect or relocate any endangered plants found within the site.
