Scientists have discovered a flesh-eating plant so large that it can swallow and devour rats whole. They are lured into its slipper-like mouth to drown or die of exhaustion before being slowly dissolved by digestive enzymes.

Natural history explorer Stewart McPherson, who runs Redfern Natural History Productions, discovered the plant during an expedition to Mount Victoria in the Philippines, with fellow botanists Alastair Robinson and Volker Heinrich.

The plant, a member of the 'pitcher' family, grows more than 4ft long. The team said in a statement: 'That one of the largest carnivorous plants has remained undiscovered until the 21st century is remarkable.

Botanists named the plant 'Nepenthes attenboroughii' after nature expert Sir David Attenborough