Triphyophyllum | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Dioncophyllaceae |
Genus: | Triphyophyllum Airy Shaw |
Species: | T. peltatum |
Binomial name | |
Triphyophyllum peltatum | |
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Triphyophyllum distribution | |
Synonyms | |
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Triphyophyllum /ˌtrɪfioʊˈfɪləm/ is a monotypic plant genus, containing the single species Triphyophyllum peltatum of the family Dioncophyllaceae. It is native to tropical western Africa, in Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Liberia, growing in tropical forests.
It is a liana, with a three-stage lifecycle, each with a different shaped leaf, as indicated by its Greek name. In the first stage, T. peltatum forms a rosette of simple lanceolate leaves with undulate margins. It then develops long, slender, glandular leaves, resembling those of the related Drosophyllum , which capture insects; one to three of these leaves in each rosette. [1] The plant then enters its adult liana form, with short non-carnivorous leaves bearing a pair of "grappling hooks" [2] at their tips on a long twining stem which can become 165 feet (50 meters) in length and four inches (10 cm) thick. [3] T. peltatum is the largest of all confirmed carnivorous plants in the world, but its carnivorous nature did not become known until 1979, some 51 years after the plant's discovery. [4] Its seeds are about 3 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter, bright red in color, disc-shaped, with a peltate stalk emerging from the fruit. Most of the seed's development occurs outside the fruit. [5] The fruit and seed develop from an orange flower with five incurved petals. [6] As the seed dries out, its wide umbrella shape enables it to be transported on the wind.
Triphyophylum peltatum is currently cultivated in three botanical gardens: Abidjan, Bonn, and Würzburg. It is exceedingly rare in private collections.
Drosophyllum is a genus of carnivorous plants containing the single species Drosophyllum lusitanicum. In appearance, it is similar to the related genus Drosera, and to the much more distantly related Byblis.
Drosera spatulata, the spoon-leaved sundew, is a variable, rosette-forming sundew with spoon-shaped leaves. The specific epithet is Latin for "spatula shaped," a reference to the form of the leaves. This sundew has a large range and occurs naturally throughout Southeast Asia, southern China and Japan, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, eastern Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. Variants are often known by the localities in which they are found. The plant does not form hibernacula in winter, and is easily grown using the same methods as Drosera capensis.
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.
Ancistrocladus is a genus of woody lianas in the monotypic family Ancistrocladaceae. The branches climb by twining other stems or by scrambling with hooked tips. They are found in the tropics of the Old World.
Nepenthes ventricosa is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines, where it is a highland species, growing at an elevation of 1,000–2,000 metres (3,300–6,600 ft) above sea level. It has been recorded from the islands of Luzon, Panay, and Sibuyan. The pitchers are numerous, growing up to 20 centimetres (8 in) tall and ranging in colour from ivory white to red.
Nepenthes macfarlanei is a carnivorous pitcher plant species endemic to Peninsular Malaysia. It produces attractive red-speckled pitchers. Lower pitchers are ovoid or infundibular in the lower half and globose or cylindrical above and up to 25 cm high. Upper (aerial) pitchers are of a lighter colour with wings reduced to rubs. The lower surface of the lid is densely covered with short, white hairs. This is a characteristic morphological feature of this species, but at present its function is unknown.
Nepenthes maxima, the great pitcher-plant, is a carnivorous pitcher plant species of the genus Nepenthes. It has a relatively wide distribution covering New Guinea, Sulawesi, and the Maluku Islands. It may also be present on Wowoni Island.
The Dioncophyllaceae are a family of flowering plants consisting of three species of lianas native to the rainforests of western Africa.
Nepenthes hurrelliana is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo, where it has been recorded from northern Sarawak, southwestern Sabah, and Brunei. It is of putative hybrid origin; its two original parent species are thought to be N. fusca and N. veitchii. A thick indumentum of rusty-brown hairs covers the entire plant, a characteristic presumably inherited from the latter.
Nepenthes longifolia is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra, where it grows at elevations of between 300 and 1100 m above sea level. The specific epithet longifolia, formed from the Latin words longus (long) and folius (leaf), refers to the exceptionally large leaves of this species.
Nepenthes mikei is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra. It is characterised by its black mottled lower and upper pitchers. The species is closely related to N. angasanensis and N. tobaica.
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 rhombicaulis is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra. The specific epithet rhombicaulis is formed from the Latin words rhombicus, meaning "rhomboid", and caulis, "stem". It refers to the cross-sectional shape of the stem internodes.
Nepenthes spectabilis is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra, where it grows at elevations of between 1400 and 2200 m above sea level. The specific epithet spectabilis is Latin for "visible" or "notable".
Nepenthes × trichocarpa, the dainty pitcher-Plant, is a common natural hybrid involving N. ampullaria and N. gracilis. It was originally thought to be a distinct species and was described as such.
Cassipourea hiotou is a species of plant in the Rhizophoraceae family found in Ivory Coast and Ghana. The species grows naturally in the well-shaded, to wet evergreen forests on the land region lying between the Cavally and Sassandra rivers. Although the extent of these forests has been significantly reduced, it can be locally common.
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants still generate some of their energy from photosynthesis. Carnivorous plants have adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica, as well as many Pacific islands. In 1875 Charles Darwin published Insectivorous Plants, the first treatise to recognize the significance of carnivory in plants, describing years of painstaking research.
Drosera falconeri is a carnivorous plant in the genus Drosera. It is endemic to the Northern Territory of Australia.
Pinguicula, commonly known as the butterworts, is a genus of carnivorous flowering plants in the family Lentibulariaceae. They use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they obtain from the environment. Of the roughly 80 currently known species, 13 are native to Europe, 9 to North America, and some to northern Asia. The largest number of species is in South and Central America.
Ancistrocladus korupensis is a species of liana endemic to southwestern Cameroon and the neighbouring regions of Nigeria. The type locality is Korup National Park. The plant was identified as new to science in 1993 after pharmacologically intriguing alkaloids were found in its leaves.