I completely agree with Joachims thoughts about Nepenthes taxonomy as
outlined in yesterday's mail.
Please let me comment the following:
> N. paniculata:
>
> maybe further field-observations at Doormans top will bring more light
> at this species. Unfortunately at the recent visit of Andreas Wistuba
> et al. at the Southern slopes of this mountain, they coul
> not find it anymore; maybe it is growing just at a re
> tricted area. It is difficult for me, to imagine that one species is
> growing in such different habitats like mossy forest (?) at 1460 m at
> Doormans top (N. paniculata) and lowland forests or savanna s (N.
> neoguinensis). Also e.g. the shape of pitchers u derline my feelings
> (please compare the original material of N. paniculata with the
> recollections of N. neoguinensis which show another type of
> infundibuliform pitchers.
H. Rischer, B. Baumgartl, B. Kistler and myself visited Doormans Top
this spring. We searched at the supposed altitude quite intensively
but found nothing except N. vieillardii and N. maxima. However I must
admit that the type collection was made on another slope of the
mountain. As Doormans top is completely intact without any burning or
logging I do not think that the species is extinct. Comparing the
ecology of Doormans top around 1400-1600 m with the N. neoguineensis
site near Jayapura you find completely different ecotypes. As Joachim
mentioned Doormans top's mossy forest is quite different to the
forest near Jayapura where N. neoguineensis grows together with N.
ampullaria.
On the other hand after having seen them in the wild I completely
agree with you, Matthew, that even the
most infundibuliform pitchers near Jayapura still are without any
doubt specimens of N. neoguineensis.
>From my point of view we will have to wait until material from
Doormans top is recollected.
Andreas
Andreas Wistuba
A.Wistuba@Dkfz-Heidelberg.de
Phone: +49-621-705471 Fax: +49-621-711307