Could this be a possible new Nepenthes species?
This is a Nepenthes acquired from three years back that is unlike any I have seen so far. Not that it bears characters unique within the genus, but its traits are not seen in any described Nepenthes known from the Philippines. As you can see from the photo, the lower portion of the trap is infundibular, with a nearly perfectly oblique operculum (the pitcher 'mouth') and lid that is smaller in diameter compared to the operculum. Photo depicts an upper trap:
Another upper trap from the same plant:
I expect some quarters to dismiss this plant as just another N. graciliflora, currently the most widespread of Philippine Nepenthes species. Photo below shows the two plants side by side. Note the upper trap of N. graciliflora (left) being bulbous as opposed to the infundibular shape of this species under scrutiny.
If at all, the most similar Philippine species that I can think of is N. cornuta. But the portion of the pitcher immediate to the tendril attachment is not as narrow. The next two photos below are of N. cornuta.
Additional differences are seen in the operculum, which is angled at the rear in N. cornuta, and the lid which lacks a basal appendage. To better illustrate, here is a photo from one of the traps of the indeterminate species, showing the more oblique operculum, and the basal appendage on the lid.
Intermediate pitchers are suffused with red, and those from the rosette stages have a much deeper color, which is really quite eye-catching. Such a shame that I cannot show a photo from the rosette pitchers, as the side growths are now nearing the climbing stage. Maybe next time.
So what is this species, exactly? Without a doubt it belongs to the putative N. alata group, which includes, apart from N. alata itself: N. armin, N. ceciliae, N. copelandii, N. cornuta, N. extincta, N. graciliflora, N. justinae, N. kitanglad, N. leyte, N. mindanaoensis, N. negros, N. ramos, N. saranganiensis, N. tboli, N. ultra and N. zygon.* However, it does not match any of those species. Further investigation requires that the locality be known so that its population and range of variation can be studied. Unfortunately, because this was acquired from a nursery, the provenance details have been lost, although I was once told that it came from Mindanao.
My lone plant grows in lowland conditions in my balcony along with a few other Nepenthes species, and lots of hoyas and some species orchids. It gets bright, somewhat filtered light for most of the day and is heavily watered daily. Hopefully I can locate a female plant, as this one is a male. The odds of it happening are low, though.
*I do not consider N. hamiguitanensis as belonging to this group, and N. kurata has since been synonymized under N. ramos (see Gronemeyer et al. 2016). The inclusion of N. truncata and N. x robcantleyi (and therefore, also N. nebularum) as per Jebb & Cheek (2014) is already stretching it, in my opinion.
Another upper trap from the same plant:
I expect some quarters to dismiss this plant as just another N. graciliflora, currently the most widespread of Philippine Nepenthes species. Photo below shows the two plants side by side. Note the upper trap of N. graciliflora (left) being bulbous as opposed to the infundibular shape of this species under scrutiny.
If at all, the most similar Philippine species that I can think of is N. cornuta. But the portion of the pitcher immediate to the tendril attachment is not as narrow. The next two photos below are of N. cornuta.
Additional differences are seen in the operculum, which is angled at the rear in N. cornuta, and the lid which lacks a basal appendage. To better illustrate, here is a photo from one of the traps of the indeterminate species, showing the more oblique operculum, and the basal appendage on the lid.
Intermediate pitchers are suffused with red, and those from the rosette stages have a much deeper color, which is really quite eye-catching. Such a shame that I cannot show a photo from the rosette pitchers, as the side growths are now nearing the climbing stage. Maybe next time.
So what is this species, exactly? Without a doubt it belongs to the putative N. alata group, which includes, apart from N. alata itself: N. armin, N. ceciliae, N. copelandii, N. cornuta, N. extincta, N. graciliflora, N. justinae, N. kitanglad, N. leyte, N. mindanaoensis, N. negros, N. ramos, N. saranganiensis, N. tboli, N. ultra and N. zygon.* However, it does not match any of those species. Further investigation requires that the locality be known so that its population and range of variation can be studied. Unfortunately, because this was acquired from a nursery, the provenance details have been lost, although I was once told that it came from Mindanao.
My lone plant grows in lowland conditions in my balcony along with a few other Nepenthes species, and lots of hoyas and some species orchids. It gets bright, somewhat filtered light for most of the day and is heavily watered daily. Hopefully I can locate a female plant, as this one is a male. The odds of it happening are low, though.
*I do not consider N. hamiguitanensis as belonging to this group, and N. kurata has since been synonymized under N. ramos (see Gronemeyer et al. 2016). The inclusion of N. truncata and N. x robcantleyi (and therefore, also N. nebularum) as per Jebb & Cheek (2014) is already stretching it, in my opinion.
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