Nepenthes rowaniae | |
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A juvenile N. rowaniae plant | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Nepenthaceae |
Genus: | Nepenthes |
Species: | N. rowaniae |
Binomial name | |
Nepenthes rowaniae F.M.Bailey (1897) | |
Synonyms | |
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Nepenthes rowaniae ( /nɪˈpɛnθiːzˈroʊəniː/ ; after Ellis Rowan, Australian naturalist and illustrator) is a species of pitcher plant endemic to the Cape York Peninsula, Australia. It is closely related to N. mirabilis and was once considered an extreme form of this species. [2] [3]
Between 1881 and 1905, Frederick Manson Bailey described 11 species of Nepenthes from northern Australia, [4] all of which were placed in synonymy with N. mirabilis by B. H. Danser in 1928. [5] The only taxon which Danser considered to possess morphological characters atypical of N. mirabilis was N. rowaniae. He wrote: [5]
"Of all these I have seen the type or at least authentic specimens, but they are nearly all mere growth forms of N. mirabilis. Only N. rowanae shows a character not yet met with in N. mirabilis, viz. campanulate-infundibuliform upper pitchers. A similar aberration, however, is often met with in several allied species and is certainly insufficient for specific distinction."
However, field observations carried out between 2001 and 2003 "showed that N. rowanae possesses several stable, significant morphological and ecological characteristics that are not exhibited by N. mirabilis", and the taxon was subsequently elevated to a species in 2005. [2] This opinion is not universally shared; taxonomist Jan Schlauer continues to treat N. rowaniae as a heterotypic synonym of N. mirabilis in his Carnivorous Plant Database. [6]
Character | N. mirabilis | N. rowaniae |
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Morphology of leaf blade | Acute to rounded | Contracted towards the apex, then continuing along the tendril as a narrow, acute, extension |
Insertion of tendril to leaf blade | Simple | Peltate |
Pitcher wings | Simple, bearing multicellular fringe elements | Often flattened at front, forming a T-shape in XS, multicellular fringe elements often present |
Leaf blade texture | Usually chartaceous | Strongly coriaceous |
Leaf blade attachment to stem | Simple, or rarely decurrent for ⅓ the length of the internode | Decurrent for at least ½ the length of the internode, usually more |
Gland density in lower portion of pitcher | 1600-2500 / cm² | Approximately 3600 / cm² |
Position of pitcher hip in upper pitchers | Mid-way, to lower half | Upper quarter |
Position of pitcher hip in lower pitchers | Lower third to quarter | Immediately beneath peristome |
According to the ICBN, the correct spelling of this taxon's name is Nepenthes rowaniae, as the epithet is based on the personal name Rowan. [7] [8] There is only one correct way to form this epithet (in the genitive: Rec 60C.1.b.) and the resulting correct spelling is mandatory; any usage of the spelling rowanae is to be corrected to rowaniae (Art 60.11). [9] However, the literature tends to use Nepenthes rowanae, instead. [2] [10] [11]
Nepenthes spathulata is a tropical pitcher plant native to Java and Sumatra, where it grows at elevations of between 1100 and 2900 m above sea level. The specific epithet spathulata is derived from the Latin word spathulatus, meaning "spatula shaped", and refers to the shape of the lamina.
Nepenthes mirabilis, or the common swamp pitcher-plant and tropical pitcher plant, is a carnivorous plant species. By far the most widespread of all Nepenthes, its range covers continental Southeast Asia and all major islands of the Malay Archipelago, stretching from China in the north to Australia in the south. The species exhibits great variability throughout its range. One of the more notable varieties, N. mirabilis var. echinostoma, is endemic to Brunei and Sarawak and possesses an extremely wide peristome.
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 hispida is a tropical pitcher plant species native to Borneo. It grows at elevations of 100 to 800 m in kerangas forest. It is known with certainty only from Lambir Hills National Park and surrounding areas.
Nepenthes angasanensis is a tropical pitcher plant species endemic to Sumatra, where it grows at an altitude of 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) to 3,100 metres (10,200 ft) above sea level. The status of this taxon is controversial as it is similar in morphology to N. mikei and N. tobaica. It has even been suggested that the taxon might represent a natural hybrid between N. densiflora and N. tobaica.
Nepenthes bongso is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra, where it has an altitudinal distribution of 1000–2700 m above sea level. The specific epithet bongso refers to the Indonesian legend of Putri Bungsu, the spirit guardian of Mount Marapi.
Nepenthes gymnamphora is a tropical pitcher plant native to the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It has a wide altitudinal range of 600–2,800 metres (2,000–9,200 ft) above sea level. There is much debate surrounding the taxonomic status of this species and the taxa N. pectinata and N. xiphioides.
Nepenthes copelandii is a species of pitcher plant native to the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Originally known from Mount Apo near Davao City and Mount Pasian near Bislig, it has since been discovered on a number of peaks throughout Mindanao. It may also be present on the nearby island of Camiguin. The species has a wide altitudinal distribution of 1100–2400 m above sea level. Nepenthes copelandii has no known natural hybrids. No forms or varieties have been described.
Nepenthes philippinensis is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines. It is known from Palawan and the neighbouring Calamian Islands and Linapacan, where it grows at 0–600 metres (2,000 ft) above sea level.
Nepenthes thorelii is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Indochina. Very little is known about N. thorelii and it is unlikely to have entered cultivation, although various other taxa are often mislabelled as this species in the plant trade. Prior to its rediscovery in 2011, N. thorelii was considered possibly extinct, both in the wild and in cultivation.
Nepenthes tomoriana is a species of pitcher plant endemic to Sulawesi, where it grows at an elevation of 0–500 m above sea level.
Nepenthes beccariana is a tropical pitcher plant. The species was described in 1908 by John Muirhead Macfarlane based on a specimen collected from the island of Nias, which lies off the western coast of Sumatra. It appears to be closely related to both N. longifolia and N. sumatrana, and the former is possibly a heterotypic synonym of this taxon.
Nepenthes junghuhnii is a tropical pitcher plant native to Sumatra. This species has been the source of much confusion since its discovery. The taxon originally named N. junghuhnii by John Muirhead Macfarlane has never been formally published. In 1994, taxonomist Jan Schlauer described N. junghuhnii as a "rather dubious species based on insufficient specimens". Nepenthes junghuhniisensu Macfarlane has not been relocated in the wild since the collection of the type specimen. It is characterised by strongly petiolate leaves and appears to be most closely related to N. bongso and N. spathulata; Schlauer considers it a possible synonym of the former.
Nepenthes tenax is a lowland species of tropical pitcher plant native to northern Queensland, Australia. It is the third Nepenthes species recorded from the continent and its second endemic species. Nepenthes tenax is closely related to the three other Australian Nepenthes species: N. mirabilis, N. rowaniae and N. parvula.
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.
Nepenthes of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia is a monograph by Charles Clarke on the tropical pitcher plants of Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, and their minor surrounding islands. It was published in 2001 by Natural History Publications (Borneo). Clarke described it as "intermediate between an ecological monograph and a taxonomic one".
"Nepenthaceae" is a monograph by John Muirhead Macfarlane on the tropical pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes. It was published in 1908 in Adolf Engler's Das Pflanzenreich. It was the most exhaustive revision of the genus up to that point, covering all known species, and included detailed accounts of the structure, anatomy, and development of Nepenthes.