Danser's Monograph on Nepenthes: Nepenthes Veitchii



49. Nepenthes Veitchii HOOK. F. - N. villosa HOOK. PAT., Bot. Mag., t. 5080 (1858) pro parte ; V. HOUTTE, Fl. serr., XIII, p. 27, t. 1304-1305 (1858) pro parte ; LEMAIRE, Ill. Hort., XVI, misc., p. 46, ic. p. 45 (1869) pro parte ; N. Veitchii HOOK. F., Transact. Linn. Soc., XXII, p. 421 (1859) ; MIQ., Ill., p. 7 (1870) ; HOOK. F., in D.C., Prodr., XVII, p. 96 (1873) ; ANDRÉ, Ill. Hort., XXIII, p. 192, t. CCLXI (1876) ; (Veitchi) BROOME, Garden, XVII, p, 542, cum ic. (1880) ; (Veitchi) REG., Gartenfl,, 1880, p. 263 (1880) ; MAST., Gard. Chron., 1881, 2. p. 780, ic. 152 (1881) ; BECC., Mal., III, p. 3 & 8 (1886) ; DIXON, Gard. Chron., 1888, 1, p. 170 (1888) ; WUNSCHM., in ENGL. & PRANTL, Nat. Pflanzenfam., III, 2, p. 260 (1891) ; BECK, Wien. Ill. Gartenz, 1895, p. 144, ic. 3 (1895) ; BURB., Gard. Chron., 1896, 2, p. 106 (1896) ; MOTT., Dict., III, p. 451 (1869) ; WATSON, Gard. Chron., 1896, 2, p. 239 (1896) ; BURB., Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc., XXI, p. 259 (1897) ; BOERL., Handl., III, 1, p. 54 (1900) ; BECC., For. Born., p. 160, ic. 32 (1902) ; HEMSL., Gard. Chron., 1905, 1. p. 260 (1905) ; MACF., In ENGL., Pflanzenr., IV, 111, p. 73 (1908) ; in BAIL. Cycl., IV, p. 2128, ic. 2465 (1919) ; MERR., Bibl. enum. Born., p. 285 (1921) ; N. lanata MAST., Gard. Chron., 1882, 1, p. 178 (1882) ; BECC., Mal., III, p. 1, 2, 6, 8 (1886) ; MOTT., Dict., III, p. 449 (1896) ; BOERL., Handl., III, 1, p. 54 (1900) ; N. sanguinea MAST., Gard. Chron., 1882, 2, p. 808, lc. 143 (1882), non LINDL., Gard. Chron., 1849, p. 580, ic, 2 (1849), &c.

Icones: Bot. Mag., t. 5080 (1858) pars colorata, optima ; Ill. Hort., XVI, p. 45 (1869) eadem ac praecedens, sed non colorata ; Fl. serr., XIII, t. 1304-1305 (1858) eadem ac praecedens ; Garden, 1880, t. CCXXXVII (1880) mediocris, colorata ; Gard. Chron., 1881, 2, p. 781 (1881) mediocris ; Gard. Chron., 1882, 2. p. 809 (1882) optima ; BECC., For. Born., p. 160 (1902) bona ; BAIL., Cycl., VI ic. 2465 (1919) bona.

Folia mediocria petiolata, lamina spathulata, nervis longitudinalibus utrinque 3-4, vagina caulis maximum partem amplectente, saepe in alas 2 decurrente ; ascidia rosularum ignota ; ascidia inferiora et superiora magna oblonga v. campanulato-infundibuliformia, alis 2 fimbriatis ; peristomio operculum versus valde elevato, expanso, 5-60 mm lato, costis 1/3-2 mm distantibus, dentibus 3-4 x longioribus quam latis ; operculo anguste ovato-cordato, facie inferiore prope basin in appendice lateraliter applanata, prope apicem plerumque appendice conica v. claviformi ; inflorescentia racemas pedicellis inferioribus 8-12 mm longis, omnibus 2-floris ; indumentum villosum.

Stems not climbing, less than 1 m long, the internodes between the adult leaves flattened, elliptical on transversal section, 1 to 5 cm long, with or without 2 decurrent wings. Rosettes unknown. Leaves alternate, coriaceous, petiolate, lamina narrowly cuneate or spathulate, rarely lanceolate or obovate, 16 to 25 cm long, 4 to 10 cm broad, broadest near the apex or rarely near the middle, acute to obtuse or broadly emarginate at the apex, rarely rounded at the base, usually tapering into the petiole ; the petiole canaliculate, few cm long, mostly almost wholly amplexicaul with a laterally flattened sheath, rarely decurrent into 2 wings over 1 internode ; pennate nerves irregularly reticulate, running obliquely towards the margin, longitudinal nerves 3 or 4 on each side, running parallel in the outer 1/3 or 1/2 of the lamina, originating in the narrow base of the lamina ; tendrils short robust, curved down, without curl, as long as the leaf or shorter, to 2/5 of its length, flattened above, rounded below, 3 to 5 mm thick near the lamina, thicker towards the pitcher. Lower pitchers and usually also the upper pitchers gradually originating from the hanging tendril, very shortly incurved, campanulate-infundibulate in the lower part, widest in or somewhat below the middle, sometimes slightly narrowed towards the mouth, 15 to 28 cm high, 4 to 10 cm wide, over almost the whole length with 2 fringed wings, the wings 4 to 14 mm broad, the fringe segments 6 to 20 mm long, 2 to 10 mm apart, rarely branched ; mouth horizontal in front, strongly incurved and acuminate towards the lid, elongated into a short neck ; peristome expanded, 4 to 15 mm broad in front, 10 to 60 mm broad towards the lid, the ribs 1/2 to 1 mm apart, or in very broad peristomes up to 2 1/2 mm apart at the outer side ; teeth of the inner margin about 3 to 4 times long as broad ; inner surface of the pitcher wholly glandular or a small portion below the lid glandless, the glands minute and overarched, about 2000 to 2500 on 1 cm2 ; lid narrowly ovate, obtuse, rounded or slightly cordate at the base, much smaller than the mouth, 3 to 9 cm long, 1 3/4 to 5 cm broad, with a laterally flattened appendage on the basal part of the midrib and mostly a small conical, rarely longer appendage near the apex, over the whole lower surface with rather large, deepened and rimmed glands, which are larger and more elliptical towards the appendages ; spur inserted few mm from the lid, not branched, about 5 to 10 mm long. Upper pitchers sometimes of another shape, smaller, up to 17 cm high, up to 4 1/2 cm wide, campanulate-infundibuliform, widest near the mouth, the wings narrow below, up to 5 mm broad towards the top. Male inflorescence a raceme, the peduncle 1 1/2 to 14 cm long, strongly flattened, 2 1/2 to 5 mm broad at the top, somewhat broader at the base, the axis also flattened, attenuate towards the top, with narrow grooves, 15 to 26 cm long, rather densely flowered ; pedicels without bract, the lower ones 8 to 12 mm long, the upper ones somewhat shorter, almost all of them 2-flowered. Tepals orbicular elliptical, about 4 mm long. Staminal column 5 to 6 mm long, the uniseriate anthers included. Female inflorescence in the main like the male one, known only in the fruiting state. Tepals oblong-lanceolate. Fruit very slender, the valves narrowly lanceolate, 2 mm broad, attenuate towards both ends. Seeds filiform, the nucleus strongly transversely wrinkled. Indumentum long, hirsute, spreading, the stems very densely hairy when young, less densely when adult, glabrous here and there, the leaves glabrous above, the rather densely and shortly haired upper side of the midrib excepted, very densely stellate-hairy below when young, later more glabrous, the midrib excepted which is hirsute, as is the tendril ; the pitchers very densely hirsute when young, later densely covered with stellate hairs intermixed with longer hairs, the hairs partly deciduous, inflorescence shortly and densely stellate-hairy, the indumentum of the tepals still denser and shorter, the staminal column with longer and appressed hairs, the fruit with remnants of stellate hairs or not. Colour of herbarium specimens yellowish- to reddish-brown. (Description after all the plants seen by the author.)

BORNEO. Sarawak: LOBB, H. S. (0), probably mountains near Kuching, cfr. Bot. Mag., t. 5080, 4th line of the discussion ; I 1889, HAVILAND, H. S. (m) ; Lawas River, 1877, BURBIDGE, H. S. (0) ; Ulu Lawas, Marapok Mts., IX 1909, H. S. M. (f) ; G. Mooloo, 900 m (Transact. Linn. Soc., XXII, p. 421) ; G. Santubong, summit, 726 m XII 1906, HEWITT, H. S. M. (m) ; Bidi, H. S. M. (m) ; Res. Western Division: Singkawang, G. Pasi, TEYSMANN 7894, H. B. (0).

N. Veitchii is nearer related to N. maxima than any author has observed. In all the specimens of N. Veitchii seen by me I even have found the 2 appendages of the lid, which are so typical for N. maxima, though the appendage near the apex is often very small. Also in several figures this peculiarity has not been forgotten. When N. maxima grows on high mountains it often flowers without forming climbing stems. Such plants are often difficultly distinguishable from N. Veitchii. This suggests that the latter might only be a constant alpine form of N. maxima. Provisorily, however, it seems, that both species grow together in the wild state, without intermixing, but more exact observations are necessary on this point. The hybrid of N. maxima and N. Veitchii (N. Tiveyi MAST.) is known in cultivated state, but nothing is known about its grade of fertility.

The area of distribution of N. Veitchii is limited to north-western Borneo, and it is found once in the Dutch part by TEYSMANN. The elevation on which it grows seems, as far as known, to be not so great, viz. 900 m and 726 m ; this suggests that N. Veitchii is not an alpine form of N. maxima. BURBIDGE says about the mode of growth (Gard. Chron., 1882, 1, p. 58): "This is a true epiphyte. I never met with it on the ground anywhere, but in great quantity at 100 feet high on tree trunks. Its distichous habit is unique, I fancy, and then some of the leaves actually clasp around the tree just as a man would fold his arms around it in similar circumstances." MACFARLANE considers this habit as the normal one, but the material seen by me suggests, that this is wrong. BECCARI does not say a word of it when speaking of this species in For. Born., p. 160.


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