Re: Nepenthes taxonomy

From: SCHLAUER@chemie.uni-wuerzburg.de
Date: Mon Feb 14 2000 - 08:33:23 PST


Date:          Mon, 14 Feb 2000 08:33:23 
From: SCHLAUER@chemie.uni-wuerzburg.de
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg441$foo@default>
Subject:       Re: Nepenthes taxonomy

Dear Dave,

> I still have not gotten a good idea about the differences between
> _N.ventricosa_ and _N.burkei._

What you (and most other growers) have in cultivation is most
probably several growth forms (impossible to classify in
defined distinct taxa) of the rather widespread (both in the wild and
in cultivation) _N. ventricosa_. It is very questionable if any true
_N. burkei_ is in cultivation at all. The plant originally
introduced seems to have disappeared. Type specimens, leaving little
doubt about the features of true _N. burkei_, are extant at K,
however.

> Could someone please explain what nerves they are refering to?

The longitudinal nerves (veins) running through the leaf-like,
flattened lower part of the leaves.

> Also, I don't really see much comparison in this paragraph.

I hope you see a difference between 3-4 and 6-7!

> About the only difference made appearent was that
> ventricosa has much smaller lids on the pitchers.

This is probably not a very useful difference between the species.

> Well, I checked
> all three of my flowering size ventricosa/burkei plants and found
> that they all have three longituudinal veins in the leaf-blade.

This is not very likely. I suppose your plants have at least three
*pairs* of longitudinal nerves in the leaves. In this case you have a
nice confirmation of the identity of your plants with _N.
ventricosa_.

> Two of them (one of which was supposedly collected from where
> _N.burkei_ is found)

Where exactly?

---------------

> One is called N.alata 'Boshiana Mimic' this one is glabrous.

This is straightforward _N. alata_ originally distributed by H.
Weiner. It does not have anything in common with _N. boschiana_.

> The second plant, also called _N. alata,_ differs from the first by
> having a dense covering of very short white hairs on the pitcher
> and tendril, the tendril insertion on the upper leaves is a bit
> peltate.

This may be either _N. alata_ or _N. eustachya_. The two are very
similar (especially _N. alata_ is excessively variable) and cannot
be distinguished reliably without location data.

> So I wonder where Peter got the first one as it reminds me more of
> the description of _N.eustachya_

Not at all! _N. eustachya_ does AFAIK *never* have an appendage on
the lower lid surface.

> to contact the grower I received plant two from, perhaps he can
> provide me the location data.

This would be quite helpful.

Kind regards
Jan



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