Natural hybrid of Nepenthes (rafflesiana x gracilis)

TANWK (TANWK@am.nie.ac.sg)
Tue, 29 Oct 1996 16:36 +0800

Dear Fellow CP'ers,
I am curious to find out who is the person to be credited with the
discovery of
the natural hybrid (not the cultivar) of N. rafflesiana x N. gracilis.
The cultivar or man-made hybrid is credited to John Dominy in 1862. The
cultivar is mentioned in Phillips & Lamb's 1996 book "Pitcher-plants of
Borneo", page 17. However, there is no reference to this particular
natural hybrid among the other natural hybrids and species of Nepenthes
described elsewhere in the book.

In an earlier article "Pitcher-plants of East Malaysia and Brunei"
(Nature
Malaysiana, Vol 13, No 4, Oct 1988), Phillipps & Lamb showed a
photograph on page 9 entitled "The natural hybrid N. x trichocarpa
(sic): N. rafflesiana crossed with N. gracilis". This natural hybrid
(N. rafflesiana x N. gracilis) is included in the text giving the list
of names of hybrids "so far recorded in the wild", on the same page.

Incidentally, I have seen the natural hybrid in several locations
within a 150
kilometres of Singapore, where I live. Regards and Happy CP'ing,
Wee
Kiat.