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Nepenthes rajah is a carnivorous pitcher plant species of the family Nepenthaceae. It is endemic to Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount Tambuyukon in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Nepenthes rajah grows exclusively on serpentine substrates, particularly in areas of seeping ground water where the soil is loose and permanently moist. The species has an altitudinal range of 1,500–2,650 metres (4,920–8,690 ft) a.s.l. and is thus considered a highland or sub-alpine plant. Due to its localised distribution, N. rajah is classified as an endangered species by the IUCN and listed on CITES Appendix I.
Nepenthes tentaculata, or the fringed pitcher-plant, is a tropical pitcher plant with a wide distribution across Borneo and Sulawesi. It grows at altitudes of 400–2550 m.
Nepenthes reinwardtiana is a tropical pitcher plant native to Borneo and Sumatra and to a number of smaller surrounding islands including Bangka, Natuna, Nias, and Siberut. Although some sources have included Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore within the range of this species, these records appear to be erroneous.
Nepenthes veitchii, or Veitch's pitcher-plant, is a Nepenthes species from the island of Borneo. The plant is widespread in north-western Borneo and can also be found in parts of Kalimantan. Nepenthes veitchii usually grows as an epiphyte, though the form from Bario seems to be strictly terrestrial and has not been observed to climb trees.
Shigeo Kurata is a Japanese botanist and Nepenthes taxonomist whose work in the 1960s and 1970s contributed much to the current popularity of these plants. His best-known work is the 1976 guide Nepenthes of Mount Kinabalu. Nepenthes kurata was named in his honour.
Nepenthes × kinabaluensis, or the Kinabalu Pitcher-Plant, is the natural hybrid between N. rajah and N. villosa. It was first collected near Kambarangoh on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo by Lilian Gibbs in 1910 and later mentioned by John Muirhead Macfarlane as "Nepenthes sp." in 1914. Although Macfarlane did not formally name the plant, he noted that "[a]ll available morphological details suggest that this is a hybrid between N. villosa and N. rajah". It was finally described in 1976 by Shigeo Kurata as N. × kinabaluensis. The name was first published in Nepenthes of Mount Kinabalu, but was a nomen nudum at the time as it lacked an adequate description and information on the type specimen. The name was subsequently published validly by Kurata in 1984.
Nepenthes fusca, or the dusky pitcher-plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It is found throughout a wide altitudinal range and is almost always epiphytic in nature, primarily growing in mossy forest.
Nepenthes macrovulgaris, or the serpentine pitcher-plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It is a lowland plant that typically grows at altitudes ranging from 300 to 1200 m in sub-montane forest clearings and mossy forest. Its range is restricted to ultramafic habitats, including Mount Kinabalu, Mount Tambuyukon, the Danum Valley, the Tawai Range, the Meliau Range and Mount Silam, all in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Pitchers grow to around 25 cm high and range in colour from green to brown, with the speckled form being the most common.
Nepenthes stenophylla, or the narrow-leaved pitcher-plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. The species produces attractive funnel-shaped pitchers up to 25 cm high. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Nepenthes stenophylla belongs to the loosely defined "N. maxima complex", which also includes, among other species, N. boschiana, N. chaniana, N. epiphytica, N. eymae, N. faizaliana, N. fusca, N. klossii, N. maxima, N. platychila, and N. vogelii.
Nepenthes × alisaputrana, or the leopard pitcher-plant, is a hybrid of two well-known Nepenthes pitcher plant species: N. burbidgeae and N. rajah. The plant is confined to Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Borneo.
Dr. Charles M. Clarke is an ecologist and botanist specialising in the carnivorous plant genus Nepenthes, for which he is regarded as a World Authority. Clarke has an honours degree in Botany from Monash University in Melbourne, and a Ph.D. in Ecosystem management at the University of New England, in Armidale, New South Wales.
Culex rajah is a species of mosquito in the genus Culex. It is endemic to Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. C. rajah is placed in the subgenus Culiciomyia. In its larval stage, C. rajah is found exclusively in the pitchers of Nepenthes rajah, a species of pitcher plant. As such, it is considered a nepenthebiont.
Toxorhynchites rajah is a species of mosquito in the genus Toxorhynchites. It is endemic to Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. In its larval stage, T. rajah is found exclusively in the pitchers of Nepenthes rajah, a species of pitcher plant. As such, it is considered a nepenthebiont.
Nepenthesinfauna are the organisms that inhabit the pitchers of Nepenthes plants. These include fly and midge larvae, spiders, mites, ants, and even a species of crab, Geosesarma malayanum. The most common and conspicuous predators found in pitchers are mosquito larvae, which consume large numbers of other larvae during their development. Many of these animals are so specialised that they cannot survive anywhere else, and are referred to as nepenthebionts.
Uranotaenia moultoni is a species of mosquito in the genus Uranotaenia. It is endemic to Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. U. moultoni is placed in the subgenus Pseudoficalbia. In its larval stage, U. moultoni develops in the pitchers of Nepenthes species. As such, it is considered a nepenthebiont.
Tripteroidessp. No. 2 is a species of mosquito in the genus Tripteroides which has not yet been formally named. It is endemic to Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. T. sp. No. 2 is placed in the subgenus Rachionotomyia. In its larval stage, T. sp. No. 2 develops in the pitchers of Nepenthes species, especially N. rajah. As such, it is considered a nepenthebiont.
Nepenthes macrophylla, the large-leaved pitcher-plant, is a tropical pitcher plant known only from a very restrictive elevation on Mount Trusmadi in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
Nepenthes × trusmadiensis, or the Trus Madi Pitcher-Plant, is a natural hybrid of two famous Bornean pitcher plant species: N. lowii and N. macrophylla. It is restricted to Mount Trus Madi, where both of its parent species are sympatric.
Mount Lumarku or Lumaku is a mountain in West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. The pitcher plant species Nepenthes fusca, N. hurrelliana, and N. tentaculata are native to this mountain.
Nepenthes × sharifah-hapsahii is a natural hybrid between N. gracilis and N. mirabilis. It has been recorded from Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Thailand, although it was originally described as a species endemic to Peninsular Malaysia, where it was said to grow at elevations below 1000 m.
References
- Two New Mosquito Species from a Pitcher Plant of Mt. Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia [ permanent dead link ]
- Clarke, C.M. 1997. Nepenthes of Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu,! p. 39.
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