Nepenthes twining habit

Ctcreel@top.cis.syr.edu
Thu, 11 Nov 93 2:24:09 EST

That is a damn good question. I have several Nepenthes which reached about
three feet high and I staked 'em so they wouldn't flop over. I attached them
to a stake and the plant seemed to "like" it, but wasn't overly vine like in
it's behavior (i.e. wisteria trying to choke you while you aren't looking).
Does anybody know exactly what these things do in the wild? I have heard
that they grow in trees, but I havn't ever seen a picture.

By the way, I'm a graduate student here at Syracuse University in Syracuse,
New York and I am privy to the company of many Asian students. I recently
met a Vietnamese student who was interested in my collection of Nepenthes.
He thought the idea of carnivorous plants sounded ridiculous. When I showed
him the plants, a look of comedy went across his face. Apparently, the
jungle in Vietnam has quite alot of Nepenthes. Says they grow by rice
patties. I have a friend who brought back one bizarre speciman from Vietnam
which he found in a tree while looking MIA info. From these two experiences,
it sounds like Vietnam is loaded with Nepenthes, perhaps some of which
havn't been documented. Does anybody know of particular Nepenthes from this
area?

Chris