I'm back

Alastair Robinson (100611.1627@compuserve.com)
19 Aug 95 07:25:07 EDT

I am now oficially back from Malaysia where I had a great time. In the
peninsular, I saw Nepenthes ampullaria, gracilis, mirabilis,
macfarlaneii, gracillima and sanguinea, as well as one terrestrial
Utric. with white flowers on 15 cm scapes and a yellow flowered
aquatic, most probably 'aurea' but possibly 'flexuosa'. In Borneo, I
saw Nepenthes tentaculata, fusca, lowii, burbidgeae,
stenophylla,edwardsiana,rajah (cultivated) , * kinabaluensis (
enormous!) and villosa. When I muster up enough energy, I will write
about it; I got an awful stomach bug and was ...well, you know!
I found a Nepenthes sp. about 5 mins. walk from my father's
house ( Kuala
Lumpur ) and ( please note that all known species in the peninsular are
very distinctive among themselves ) believe that it may well be a new
species or one not so far found in the peninsular. Lower pitchers deep
purple, angular-maroon peristome, white, speckled interior. Upper
pitchers like a cross between stenophylla and thorelii uppers; slender
pithcered, infundibulate in the lower, cylindrical in the upper , fine
green/red striped peristome. Lids ovate with an almost cuneate,
indented tip ( refer to Kuratas book, second last page, or a botanical
reference.). The leaves were mainly sessile, slightly amplexicaul and
sharply rounded leaf apexes. Leaf bases auriculate. The single
specimen was a lowlander and had about 6 growing points, each several
metres long, growing on a steep incline ( under some fire escape stairs!
Thats how I was able to reach it. Two, small N. mirabilis grew a few
metres away. It does not look like it could be a hybrid as the pitcher
shapes are not characteristic of or intermediate of any peninsular
species. As K.L. is on the west side of the peninsular, the species
could have come from sumatra somehow, but that is not all too likely.
Alastair. 100611,1627@compuserve.com