Most expensive carnivorous plant

Most expensive carnivorous plant
Who
Nepenthes "Leviathan"
What
4,500 US dollar(s)
Where
United States (Colorado Springs)
When
July 2019

The most expensive carnivorous plant known to have been sold to date is a hybrid Nepenthes pitcher plant (N. rajah x N. peltata), named "Leviathan", which was developed by carnivorous plant grower Jeremiah Harris of Colorado, USA. The male-flowering specimen sold in July 2019 to an anonymous buyer for $4,500 (£3,540).

Harris first hybridized "Leviathan" in 2008. A total of six seeds from the hybrid germinated and four survived to maturity. The name comes from the giant biblical sea monster and is also a play on his brother's name (Levi). During the same transaction, the buyer also purchased a specimen of N. undulatifolia for $900. Harris founded the Colorado Carnivorous Plant Society in 2003 and has one of the largest private collections in the USA.

Another notably expensive Nepenthes plant sold in 2020. A brightly coloured selection of the tropical pitcher plant N. veitchii - grown by Drew Martinez of Carnivero in Austin, Texas, USA - sold to an undisclosed buyer for $3,500 in a sale facilitated on Instagram.

Plants in the genus Sarracenia also occasionally command extraordinary sums. The priciest public sale of Sarracenia was a division of Sarracenia "King Cobra". This specimen was developed and grown by the master hybridizer Phil Faulisi of California, USA, who sold the plant on eBay for $2,500 (£1,998) on 2 January 2025.

It must be noted, for those hoping to make a quick profit trading in carnivorous plants, that these were exceedingly rare, valuable selections. Typically, carnivorous plants can be bought/sold for $5 to $200.