Date: Thu, 18 Mar 99 21:22 EST From: Dave Evans <T442119@RUTADMIN.RUTGERS.EDU> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg863$foo@default> Subject: N.veitchii or N.maxima?
Dear Taxonimists,
When Robert Gibson was in town last year we had a get-together
at Jim Bockowksi's so we could meet Robert. At that time, I met
fellow (but can't recall his name) who insisted that _N. veitchii_
and _N. maxima_ are really the same species, the only difference
being plants called maxima have a thorn on the bottom of their lids
and this feature should not be giving much value. I disagreed, but
he seemed to be more familiar with Nepenthes than me so I kept my
mouth shut. Also, he said that there is not any way to truely
seperate these two based on what is seen in the wild, but easy to
seperate them based on the types (which are a very poor representa-
tives of what is really going in the wild.).
He when on to say that it would be better if all these species
(veitchii,maxima,eymae,and a couple others like infib -(I can't
spell it!)) should be combined under one species and ranked as
sub-species.
Now, I realize that N.maxima is very variable, and while N.
veitchii is also variable it is much more "consistant"--that the
plants one might find in the range for this species match up well
with the type for _N. veitchii_. Is this fellow's take on these
species accurate or is he just adding to my (and other's) confusion?
Dave Evans
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