- Nepenthes pitopangii
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Nepenthes pitopangii 
An upper pitcher of Nepenthes pitopangii Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Core eudicots Order: Caryophyllales Family: Nepenthaceae Genus: Nepenthes Species: N. pitopangii Binomial name Nepenthes pitopangii
Chi C.Lee, S.McPherson, Bourke & M.Mansur (2009)[1]Nepenthes pitopangii (pronounced /nɨˈpɛnθiːz pɪtɵˈpæŋɡiːaɪ/) is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Lore Lindu National Park in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.[2] Only a single plant of this species is known and efforts to locate further populations on surrounding mountains have so far been unsuccessful.[2] Nepenthes pitopangii appears to be closely related to N. glabrata.[1][2]
Contents
Botanical history
Nepenthes pitopangii was first discovered by British veterinarian, Jonathan Newman, during a birdwatching expedition through Lore Lindu National Park in September 2006.[2][3] Newman came across the plant "[w]hile trying to get closer to a roosting Diabolical Nightjar [Eurostopodus diabolicus]", and initially thought it was N. eymae.[3] The online publication of his trip report the following month[3] brought the taxon to the attention of botanists. Further habitat photographs of N. pitopangii were posted online in January 2008 by Alfindra Primaldhi, who found the plant independently, having not seen Newman's report.[4]
Stewart McPherson found only four lower pitchers of N. pitopangii during his field studies
In July 2007, Stewart McPherson and Greg Bourke visited the plant and determined that it represented a previously unknown species.[5] McPherson returned to the site with Ch'ien Lee in April 2008 to make further observations of the plant in preparation for its formal description.[5][6] During these field trips, McPherson climbed three mountains near to the type locality, but was unable to find any additional specimens of N. pitopangii.[2]
The first detailed description of the species appeared in the second volume of McPherson's Pitcher Plants of the Old World, printed in May 2009.[2] The formal description of N. pitopangii was published in the October 2009 issue of the The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore.[1][7] The holotype of N. pitopangii, RP 2054, was collected by Rahmadanil Pitopang on May 30, 2007, from Lore Lindu National Park in Sulawesi, Indonesia.[1][7] It is deposited at the Herbarium Celebense (CEB) of Tadulako University.[1][7] This collection by Pitopang, the curator of Herbarium Celebense, represents the earliest herbarium material of this species, which is named in his honour.[1]
Due to the extreme rarity of N. pitopangii, its type locality was not disclosed in the formal description.[1][2]
Description
The only known individual of this species is a large male plant with numerous branched stems reaching up to 2 m in length. All of the stems are united by a single rootstock.[2] The stem is dark red to purple, with numerous tiny green spots.[2]
Leaves are sessile. The lamina (leaf blade) is linear to lanceolate and measures up to 15.6 cm in length by 3.4 cm in width. Its apex may be acute or obtuse and it is rounded at the base, clasping the stem for around half of its circumference. The lamina is green, while the midrib and tendril range in colour from green to red.[2]
During his field studies, Stewart McPherson observed only four terrestrial pitchers of N. pitopangii and thus their description is based on a very small sample size.[2] Rosette and lower pitchers are ovate and slightly swollen in the basal half of the pitcher cup, becoming approximately cylindrical towards the pitcher mouth and exhibiting a slight hip. They are very small, growing to only 6 cm in height by 3 cm in width. A pair of wings (≤6 mm wide) typically runs down the ventral surface of the pitcher cup, with fringe elements measuring up to 4 mm in length. The peristome is cylindrical and up to 5 mm wide. It bears ribs up to 0.5 mm high and spaced up to 0.8 mm apart, which terminate in teeth up to 1.5 mm long. The pitcher lid or operculum is elliptic or sub-orbicular and does not bear any appendages. It measures up to 3.5 cm in length by 3 cm in width. The structure of the spur, which is inserted near the base of the lid, is unknown.[2]
A lower pitcher (left) and an upper pitcher exhibiting a conspicuous band of digestive glands on the inner surface (right)The upper pitchers are even shorter than their terrestrial counterparts, growing to only 4.5 cm in height by 3.7 cm in width. They narrow markedly just below the pitcher orifice, giving them their distinctive inflated appearance. In aerial traps, the ventral wings are reduced to ribs. The peristome is cylindrical and measures up to 3 mm in width. It bears ribs up to 0.3 mm high and spaced up to 0.45 mm apart. Peristome teeth are completely absent in upper pitchers. On the inner surface of the pitcher cup, the digestive glands form a conspicuous band of black dots around the waterline of the pitcher fluid. Glands located elsewhere on the interior of the pitcher are yellow and far less prominent. This species does not appear to possess the highly viscous pitcher fluid of species such as N. inermis. The lid is sub-orbicular and up to 2.9 cm long by 2.8 cm wide. As in lower pitchers, it lacks appendages. An unbranched spur up to 1.5 mm long is inserted near the base of the lid.[2]
Nepenthes pitopangii has a racemose inflorescence measuring up to 37 cm in length by 2.5 cm in diameter. The peduncle itself may be up to 18 cm long by 3 mm wide, whereas the rachis is up to 20 cm long. The inflorescence bears one-flowered pedicels (7–9 mm long), with the lowermost ones sometimes bearing a filiform bract up to around 0.5 mm long. The elliptic tepals measure up to 2 mm in length. Androphores are 2.5–3 mm long. The female inflorescence and fruits of this species are unknown.[2]
An indumentum of silver-brown hairs (≤0.5 mm long) is present on developing pitchers and lower parts of the tendrils. The plant is otherwise glabrous.[2]
Ecology
Nepenthes pitopangii is known from just one individual at a remote locality in Lore Lindu National Park, Central Sulawesi, where it grows in a previously logged forest. It has been suggested that it established itself from a stray seed prior to the forest's regeneration, which would have presumably prevented further N. pitopangii plants from surviving past the seedling stage.[2] Stewart McPherson considers it "highly likely" that there are further, as yet undiscovered, populations of N. pitopangii in Central Sulawesi.[2]
A short stem bearing lower pitchers, one of numerous offshoots from the single underground rootstockNepenthes pitopangii is recorded from secondary lower montane forest situated at around 1800 m altitude.[2] The only known specimen grows in shady conditions amongst tall shrubs and its stems appear to flower frequently, although it is unknown whether this is a usual habit of N. pitopangii in general.[2] The species is sympatric with N. maxima and N. tentaculata, but no natural hybrids have been recorded.[2]
Despite growing in a national park, the future of the only known specimen of N. pitopangii is not secure.[2] When McPherson returned to the type locality in 2008 (following his initial observations of N. pitopangii in the previous year), he found that the plant had been reduced to nearly half of its original size by plant collectors who had taken numerous cuttings in the intervening period.[2]
Related species
Nepenthes pitopangii appears to be most closely related to N.glabrata, a highland species also endemic to Sulawesi but not recorded from the local area. While the stem, laminae, and lower pitchers of these species are very similar, the markedly different upper pitcher morphology means that they are unlikely to be confused. The aerial pitchers of N. glabrata are far more elongated than those of N. pitopangii and have well-developed wings.[2]
A developing upper pitcher showing the sub-orbicular lid that distinguishes N. pitopangii from many similar speciesThe upper pitchers of N. pitopangii may bear a superficial resemblance to those of N. eymae, N. flava, N. inermis, N. jacquelineae, N. talangensis, N. tenuis, and certain forms of N. maxima. However, N. pitopangii may be distinguished from all of these species on the basis of its laminae, lower pitcher shape, and the size and shape of the lid, which lacks appendages.[2]
Despite there being only one known specimen of N. pitopangii, the taxon is not thought to be of hybridogenic origin. It is unlikely to be a natural hybrid involving N. glabrata since the closest known population of that species is more than 50 km from the type locality of N. pitopangii.[2] The only other Nepenthes from Sulawesi that produce infundibular upper pitchers are N. eymae and some forms of N. maxima. However, all recorded natural hybrids with these species exhibit petiolate leaves and typically have triangular lids with appendages on their lower surface.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Lee, C.C., S. McPherson, G. Bourke & M. Mansur 2009. Nepenthes pitopangii (Nepenthaceae), a new species from central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 61(1): 95–100.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z McPherson, S.R. 2009. Pitcher Plants of the Old World. 2 volumes. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
- ^ a b c Newman, J. 2006. Sulawesi Neps Part Three - save the best till last.... Carnivorous Plants UK, October 19, 2006.
- ^ Primaldhi, A. 2008. Sp Sulawesi. Carnivorous Plants in the tropics, January 26, 2008.
- ^ a b New Species - Nepenthes pitopangii. Redfern Natural History Productions.
- ^ Pitopang, R. 2009. Some New Records of Flowering Plant were Discovered. Ramadanilpitopang’s Blog, February 24, 2009.
- ^ a b c Nepenthes pitopangii Chi C.Lee, S.McPherson, Bourke & M.Mansur. International Plant Names Index (IPNI).
External links
Incompletely diagnosed taxa: N. sp. Misool • N. sp. Papua • N. sp. Sulawesi
Possible extinct species: N. echinatus • N. echinosporus • N. majorCategories:- Carnivorous plants of Asia
- Nepenthes
- Endemic flora of Indonesia
- Plants described in 2009
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