Nepenthes alata

Nepenthes alata
Nepenthes alata upper pitcher. Mount Ambucao, Luzon.
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Core eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Nepenthaceae
Genus:	Nepenthes
Species:	N. alata
Binomial name
Nepenthes alata Blanco (1837)
Synonyms
Synonyms Nepenthes blancoi Bl. (1852) Nepenthes cristata Brongn. (1824) [=N. alata/N. madagascariensis] Nepenthes graciliflora Elm. (1912) Nepenthes melamphora auct. non Reinw. ex Bl.: Fern.-Vill. (1880) Heterochresonyms Nepenthes alata auct. non Blanco: Danser (1928)[1] [=N. alata/?N. benstonei/ N. eustachya/N. mirabilis] Nepenthes alata auct. non Blanco: Smythies (1965) [=N. stenophylla] Nepenthes alata auct. non Blanco: Sh.Kurata (1973);[2] Tamin & M.Hotta in M.Hotta (1986);[3] M.Hopkins, Maulder & B.R.Salmon (1990)[4] [=N. alata/N. eustachya] Nepenthes alata auct. non Blanco: Shivas (1984) [=N. gracillima]

Nepenthes alata (pronounced /nɨˈpɛnθiːz əˈlɑːtə/, Latin: alatus "winged") is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines. It is found on all the major islands of the archipelago, with the possible exception of Palawan.^[5] It is one of the easiest and most popular Nepenthes species in cultivation.

The species exhibits extraordinary variation throughout its range. The population of N. alata from Mount Guisguis, Zambales, is particularly diverse in terms of morphology, with four distinct variants present on the mountain's upper slopes.^[6][7]

Nepenthes alata occurs in mossy forest at elevations ranging from 800 to 2,400 m.^[8]

Taxonomy

Nepenthes alata is closely related to several other species, including N. copelandii, N. mindanaoensis, N. philippinensis, and N. saranganiensis. Nepenthes eustachya from Sumatra was once considered a form of N. alata, but this was based on a misinterpretation of type specimens; these two species do not seem directly related to each other.^{[citation needed]}

Morphological differences between N. alata and N. eustachya (Jebb & Cheek, 1997)

Morphological character	N. alata	N. eustachya
Leaf blade	lanceolate-ovate	lanceolate
Leaf apex	acute or attenuate	rounded to sub-peltate
Petiole	broadly winged	scarcely or not winged
Spur	simple, acutely pointed	simple or bifurcate
Indumentum	reddish or whitish hairs	absent throughout
Structure of pitcher base	texture similar to rest of pitcher, abruptly attenuate to tendril	angular, woody, gradually attenuate to tendril

Infraspecific taxa

• N. alata f. variegata Hort. ex P.Mann (1996) nom.nud.
• N. alata var. biflora Macfarl. (1908)
• N. alata var. ecristata Macfarl. (1908)

Natural hybrids

• N. alata × N. burkei^[9]
• N. alata × N. merrilliana [=N. × merrilliata]^[10]
• ? (N. alata × N. merrilliana) × N. mirabilis [=N. × tsangoya]
• N. alata × N. mindanaoensis^[9]
• N. alata × N. mirabilis [=N. × mirabilata]^[11][12]
• ? N. alata × N. petiolata^[11][12]
• N. alata × N. pulchra^[5]
• N. alata × N. truncata [=N. × truncalata]^[10]
• N. alata × N. ventricosa [=N. × ventrata]^[13]

References

1. ^ Danser, B.H. 1928. 1. Nepenthes alata BLANCO. In: The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg, Série III, 9(3–4): 249–438.
2. ^ Kurata, S. 1973. Nepenthes from Borneo, Singapore and Sumatra. The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 26(2): 227–232.
3. ^ Tamin, R. & M. Hotta 1986. Nepenthes di Sumatera: The genus Nepenthes of the Sumatra Island. In: M. Hotta (ed.) Diversity and Dynamics of Plant Life in Sumatra 1. Kyoto University, Japan. pp. 75–109.
4. ^ Hopkins, M., R. Maulder & B.[R.] Salmon 1990. A real nice trip to Southeast Asia.PDF (1.72 MiB) Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 19(1–2): 19–28.
5. ^ ^{a b} McPherson, S.R. & V.B. Amoroso 2011. Field Guide to the Pitcher Plants of the Philippines. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
6. ^ Fontanilla, J.R. & R. Madulid 2002. Morphometric analysis of Nepenthes alata Blco. in Mt. Guisguis, Sta. Cruz, Zambales. Acta Manilana 50: 25–31.
7. ^ Alejandro, G.J.D., J.P.C. Baysa, B.O.C. Lemana, G.M. Madulara, R.S. Madulid & D.A. Madulid 2007. Conspecificity of Nepenthes alata Blco. population found in Mt. Guisguis, Zambales inferred from Internal Transcribed Spacer (nrDNA) sequence data. Acta Manilana 55: 15–21. doi:10.3860/acta.v55i0.1482
8. ^ Clarke, C.M., R. Cantley, J. Nerz, H. Rischer & A. Witsuba (2000). Nepenthes alata. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
9. ^ ^{a b} McPherson, S.R. 2009. Pitcher Plants of the Old World. 2 volumes. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
10. ^ ^{a b} Mann, P. 1998. A trip to the Philippines. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 27(1): 6–11.
11. ^ ^{a b} Kurata, S. & M. Toyoshima 1972. Philippine species of Nepenthes. The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 26(1): 155–158. Abstract
12. ^ ^{a b} Cheek, M.R. & M.H.P. Jebb 2001. Nepenthaceae. Flora Malesiana 15: 1–157.
13. ^ Fleming, R. 1979. Hybrid Nepenthes.PDF (626 KiB) Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 8(1): 10–12.

• Amoroso, V.B. & R.A. Aspiras 2011. Hamiguitan Range: a sanctuary for native flora. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences 18(1): 7–15. doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2010.07.003
• Cheek, M.R. & M.H.P. Jebb 1999. Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae) in Palawan, Philippines. Kew Bulletin 54(4): 887–895. doi:10.2307/4111166
• Clarke, C.M. 2006. Introduction. In: Danser, B.H. The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu. pp. 1–15.
• (German) Eilingsfeld, A. 2008. Endoskop-Aufnahmen aus der Verdauungsflüssigkeit einer Nepenthes alata. Das Taublatt 60(1): 4–7.
• (German) Gronemeyer, T. 2008. Nepenthes auf den Philippinen – Ein Reisebericht. Das Taublatt 60(1): 15–27.
• (German) Gronemeyer, T. & V. Heinrich 2008. Wiederentdeckung von Nepenthes surigaoensis am Naturstandort auf den Philippinen. Das Taublatt 60(1): 28–33.
• (German) McPherson, S. & T. Gronemeyer 2008. Die Nepenthesarten der Philippinen Eine Fotodokumentation. Das Taublatt 60(1): 34–78.
• Schlauer, J. 2000. Literature Reviews.PDF Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 29(2): 53.
• Shivas, R.G. 1984. Pitcher Plants of Peninsular Malaysia & Singapore. Maruzen Asia, Kuala Lumpur.

Further reading

• Alejandro, G.J.D., R.S. Madulid & D.A. Madulid 2008. The utility of Internal Transcribed Spacer (nrDNA) sequence data for phylogenetic reconstruction in endemic Philippine Nepenthes L. (Nepenthaceae). The Philippine Scientist 45: 99–110. doi:10.3860/psci.v45i0.994
• An, C.-I., E.-I. Fukusaki & A. Kobayashi 2001. Plasma-membrane H⁺-ATPases are expressed in pitchers of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata Blanco. Planta 212(4): 547–555. doi:10.1007/s004250000455
• An, C.-I., E.-I. Fukusaki & A. Kobayashi 2002. Aspartic proteinases are expressed in pitchers of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata Blanco. Planta 214(5): 661–667. doi:10.1007/s004250100665
• An, C.-I., S. Takekawa, A. Okazawa, E.-I. Fukusaki & A. Kobayashi 2002. Degradation of a peptide in pitcher fluid of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata Blanco. Planta 215(3): 472–477. doi:10.1007/s00425-002-0768-7
• Gaume, L., S. Gorb & N. Rowe 2002. Function of epidermal surfaces in the trapping efficiency of Nepenthes alata pitchers. New Phytologist 156(3): 479–489. doi:10.1046/j.1469-8137.2002.00530.x
• Gorb, E.V., K. Haas, A. Henrich, S. Enders, N. Barbakadze & S. Gorb 2005. Composite structure of the crystalline epicuticular wax layer of the slippery zone in the pitchers of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata and its effect on insect attachment. Journal of Experimental Biology 208: 4651–4662. doi:10.1242/jeb.01939
• Gorb, E.V. & S.N. Gorb 2006. Physicochemical properties of functional surfaces in pitchers of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata Blanco (Nepenthaceae). Plant Biology (Stuttgart, Germany) 8(6): 841–848. PubMed
• Gorb, E.V. & S.N. Gorb 2009. Chapter 8: Functional Surfaces in the Pitcher of the Carnivorous Plant Nepenthes alata: A Cryo-Sem Approach. In: S.N. Gorb (ed.) Functional Surfaces in Biology: Adhesion Related Phenomena. Volume 2. Springer. pp. 205–238.
• Hatano, N. & T. Hamada 2008. Proteome analysis of pitcher fluid of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata. Journal of Proteome Research 7(2): 809–816. doi:10.1021/pr700566d
• Kajii, E., T. Kamesaki, S. Ikemoto & Y. Miura 1988. Decomposing enzymes against human blood-group antigens in the extract of Nepenthes alata. Die Naturwissenschaften 75(5): 258–259. PubMed
• Kajii, E., T. Kamesaki & S. Ikemoto 1991. The effect of the Nepenthes alata extract on the cold agglutinin-associated antigens. Nihon Hōigaku Zasshi 45(1): 30–32. PubMed
• Kamesaki, T., E. Kajii & S. Ikemoto 1989. Purification of the decomposing enzyme from Nepenthes alata against glycophorin B of human red blood cells by high-performance liquid chromatography. Journal of Chromatography 489(2): 384–389. PubMed
• Kiew, R.G. 1990. Pitcher plants of Gunung Tahan. Journal of Wildlife and National Parks (Malaysia) 10: 34–37.
• (Indonesian) Mansur, M. 2001. Koleksi Nepenthes di Herbarium Bogoriense: prospeknya sebagai tanaman hias.PDF In: Prosiding Seminar Hari Cinta Puspa dan Satwa Nasional. Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, Bogor. pp. 244–253.
• Owen, T.P. & K.A. Lennon 1999. Structure and development of the pitchers from the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata (Nepenthaceae).PDF American Journal of Botany 86(10): 1382–1390.
• Owen, T.P., K.A. Lennon, M.J. Santo & A.N. Anderson 1999. Pathways for nutrient transport in the pitchers of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata.PDF Annals of Botany 84: 459–466.
• Pavlovič, A., E. Masarovičová & J. Hudák 2007. Carnivorous syndrome in Asian pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes. Annals of Botany 100(3): 527–536. doi:10.1093/aob/mcm145
• Riedel, M., A. Eichner & R. Jetter 2003. Slippery surfaces of carnivorous plants: composition of epicuticular wax crystals in Nepenthes alata Blanco pitchers. Planta 218(1): 87–97. doi:10.1007/s00425-003-1075-7
• Santo, M.J., J.S. Massa, & T.P. Owen 1998. Glandular secretion and absorption in the carnivorous pitcher plant Nepenthes alata. American Journal of Botany 85(supplement): 92.
• Scholz, I., M. Bückins, L. Dolge, T. Erlinghagen, A. Weth, F. Hischen, J. Mayer, S. Hoffmann, M. Riederer, M. Riedel & W. Baumgartner 2010. Slippery surfaces of pitcher plants: Nepenthes wax crystals minimize insect attachment via microscopic surface roughness. Journal of Experimental Biology 213: 1115–1125. doi:10.1242/jeb.035618
• Sota, T., M. Mogi & K. Kato 1998. Local and regional-scale food web structure in Nepenthes alata pitchers. Biotropica 30(1): 82–91. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.1998.tb00371.x
• Thornhill, A.H., I.S. Harper & N.D. Hallam 2008. The development of the digestive glands and enzymes in the pitchers of three Nepenthes species: N. alata, N. tobaica, and N. ventricosa (Nepenthaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 169(5): 615–624. doi:10.1086/533599
• Uy, B.D. 1990. The granchina Nepenthes of the Phillipines in retrospect.PDF Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 19(1–2): 18–19.
• Wang, L.-X. & Q. Zhou 2010. Numerical characterization of surface structures of slippery zone in Nepenthes alata pitchers and its mechanism of reducing locust's attachment. Advances in Natural Science 3(2): 22–31.
• (Chinese) Wu, X., J. Li, Q. Zhong & X. Wu 2005. 猪笼草组培快繁技术. [Tissue culture and fast propagation in Nepenthes alata.] Nonwood Forest Research 23(4): 48–50.

External links

• Photographs of N. alata at the Carnivorous Plant Photofinder

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Nepenthes (list)

Species

N. adnata N. alata N. alba N. albomarginata N. ampullaria N. andamana N. angasanensis N. argentii N. aristolochioides N. attenboroughii N. beccariana N. bellii N. benstonei N. bicalcarata N. bokorensis N. bongso N. boschiana N. burbidgeae N. burkei N. campanulata N. ceciliae N. chang

N. chaniana N. clipeata N. copelandii N. danseri N. deaniana N. densiflora N. diatas N. distillatoria N. dubia N. edwardsiana N. ephippiata N. eustachya N. eymae N. faizaliana N. flava N. fusca N. gantungensis N. glabrata N. glandulifera N. gracilis N. gracillima N. gymnamphora

N. hamata N. hamiguitanensis N. hirsuta N. hispida N. holdenii N. hurrelliana N. inermis N. insignis N. izumiae N. jacquelineae N. jamban N. junghuhnii N. kampotiana N. kerrii N. khasiana N. klossii N. kongkandana N. lamii N. lavicola N. leonardoi N. lingulata N. longifolia

N. lowii N. macfarlanei N. macrophylla N. macrovulgaris N. madagascariensis N. mantalingajanensis N. mapuluensis N. masoalensis N. maxima N. merrilliana N. micramphora N. mikei N. mindanaoensis N. mira N. mirabilis N. mollis N. muluensis N. murudensis N. naga N. neoguineensis N. northiana N. ovata

N. palawanensis N. paniculata N. papuana N. peltata N. pervillei N. petiolata N. philippinensis N. pilosa N. pitopangii N. platychila N. pulchra N. rafflesiana N. rajah N. ramispina N. reinwardtiana N. rhombicaulis N. rigidifolia N. rowanae N. sanguinea N. saranganiensis N. sibuyanensis N. singalana

N. smilesii N. spathulata N. spectabilis N. stenophylla N. sumatrana N. suratensis N. surigaoensis N. talangensis N. tenax N. tentaculata N. tenuis N. thai N. thorelii N. tobaica N. tomoriana N. treubiana N. truncata N. veitchii N. ventricosa N. vieillardii N. villosa N. vogelii

Incompletely diagnosed taxa: N. sp. Misool • N. sp. Papua • N. sp. Sulawesi
Possible extinct species: N. echinatus • N. echinosporus • N. major

Natural hybrids

N. × alisaputrana N. × bauensis N. × cantleyi N. × cincta

N. × ferrugineomarginata N. × harryana N. × hookeriana N. × kinabaluensis

N. × kuchingensis N. × merrilliata N. × mirabilata N. × pangulubauensis

N. × pyriformis N. × sarawakiensis N. × sharifah-hapsahii N. × trichocarpa

N. × truncalata N. × trusmadiensis N. × tsangoya N. × ventrata

Related topics

Nepenthes taxonomy • Nepenthes infauna • Nepenthes species by distribution • Nepenthes cultivars • Nepenthes literature
Nepenthesin • Nepenthales