Re: N.rajah?
Eric Schlosser (ESCHLOSS@urz-mail.urz.uni-heidelberg.de)
Tue, 10 Oct 1995 12:58:36 CET-1CST
> > I'm looking at a photo of David Attenborough standing behind what
> > appears to be a N.rajah. The neat thing about it is the tendril to
> > the pitcher starts about 3/4 of way to the leaf tip and just drops
> > off the underside of the leaf at that point. I've heard this is
> > characteristic of N.clipeata and only N.clipeata. So what gives?
>
> Both, N. rajah and N. clipeata have this kind of tendril attachment.
> It is also found (not that prominent) in N. carunculata, especially
> in N. carunculata var. robusta.
It is also found in hybrids of N.rajah (N.x kinabaluensis, N.rajah x
fusca) whereas it is NOT in hybrids of N.clipeata (at least the ones
I have seen) - and that's interesting because this phenomenon is much
stronger in the latter species.
It can also be seen in Nepenthes related to N.carunculata e.g.
N.ovata and occasionally also in N.sanguinea, N.fusca and N.maxima (my
plant produced recently leaves with the tendril starting about 0,5cm
away from the tip). So it's not really a rare phenomenon, but of
course noothing beats N.rajah or N.clipeata.
Eric Schlosser