> > Ok. I suppose then, if someone were to cross, say, N. RAFFlesiana
> > (lowland) with N. VILLosa (highland), the N.vill * N.raff might
> > (?should?) enjoy highland conditions more than N.raff * N.vill?
> > I would think these sort of traits influence metabolism more
> > than the way the hybrid looks. Am I on the mark here?
>
> Interesting idea. This could be true, although many metabolic
> enzymes are encoded by nuclear DNA and therefore would come from both
> parents. It would presumably depend on which of these were the most
> sensitive to temperature.
In the case of frost tolerance (OK, OK, this may not be the foremost
feature of highland _Nepenthes_, but...), this seems to be affected
to some degree by the lipid composition of the cytoplasmic membrane.
These lipids are for a large part synthesized in the chloroplasts (by
proteins encoded at least partially by the chloroplast genome). So
there is an (admittedly small) chance that "highland tolerance" may be
inherited from the mother-_Nepenthes_.
Kind regards
Jan