Nepenthes andamana
Encyclopedia
Nepenthes andamana is a tropical pitcher plant
endemic to Phang Nga Province
, Thailand
, where it grows at sea level in coastal savannah
and grassland
. It is thought to be most closely related to N. suratensis
.
The specific epithet andamana refers to the Andaman Sea
coast of Thailand.
by Marcello Catalano
in his 2010 book, Nepenthes della Thailandia. The description was reviewed by Alastair Robinson
, while Andreas Fleischmann provided the Latin
translation. Catalano 013395 was designated as the holotype
. This specimen was collected by Catalano in 2009 at sea level from Takua Pa, Phang Nga Province
, Thailand
. It is deposited at the Chulalongkorn University Herbarium
(BCU).
is terete and around 5 mm in diameter. Internode
s are up to 3.5 cm long. The stem ranges in colour from green to red.
Leaves are sessile and coriaceous in texture. The lamina (leaf blade) is linear to lanceolate, measures up to 30 cm in length by 3.5 cm in width, and is around 0.5 mm thick. Its apex is acute to narrowly acuminate and it is attenuate at the base, clasping the stem for around three-quarters of its circumference. Three longitudinal veins are present on either side of the midrib, restricted to the distal quarter of the lamina. Pinnate veins are also visible, and arise obliquely from the midrib. Tendril
s are up to 18 cm long and 2.5 mm in diameter. They are coiled in upper pitchers. The laminae are light green and commonly have a reddish hue, whereas the midrib and tendrils vary from green to red.
Rosette and lower pitchers are ovate in the basal third of the pitcher cup and narrower above. They measure up to 16 cm in height by 5 cm in width. The hip is located near the middle of the pitcher. A pair of wings (≤6 mm wide) runs down the ventral surface of the pitcher cup, bearing narrow fringe elements. The pitcher mouth is oval and has an oblique insertion. The peristome
is cylindrical and up to 10 mm wide at the sides, with teeth up to 1 mm long. The gland
ular zone of the inner surface extends for about half of the pitcher's height. The pitcher lid or operculum
is orbicular to broadly ovate. It is often somewhat vaulted and has a cordate base. It measures up to 4.5 cm in length by 4.5 cm in width, being larger than the pitcher orifice. The lower surface of the lid does not have any appendages, but bears numerous crater-like glands (≤1 mm in diameter), the largest of which are located around the midline. A spur (≤7 mm long) is inserted near the base of the lid. It is typically simple, but may occasionally be branched. On their outer surface, terrestrial pitchers are typically green to orange with red stripes, or red throughout. Red blotches are present in the waxy zone of the inner surface. The colour of the peristome is highly variable and may be green, white, orange, or red. The lid ranges in colour from orange to red, and bears fine red streaks.
The tubulose to narrowly infundibular upper pitchers are similar in size to their terrestrial counterparts, measuring up to 16 cm in height by 3 cm in width. The wings, if present, are up to 1 mm wide, otherwise they are reduced to a pair of ridges. The pitcher mouth is orbicular to broadly ovate and has an oblique insertion. The peristome of upper pitchers often has a slightly lobed outer margin. The lid as well as other parts of the pitcher are similar to those found in terrestrial traps. Aerial pitchers have a lighter pigmentation than their lower counterparts, being yellow to white on the outer surface. Red blotches may or may not be present on the waxy inner surface. The peristome is white throughout, while the lid may be green, yellow, or white.
Nepenthes andamana has a racemose
inflorescence
. In male plants, it reaches 110 cm in length, of which the peduncle
constitutes 45–65 cm and the rachis
20–45 cm. Around 40–190 flowers are produced. Most are borne solitarily on pedicels
measuring 3–6 mm in length, although some may have two-flowered partial peduncles. The pedicels often bear a bract
in their basal half. This structure is up to 2 mm long and is bent outwards from the pedicels. The androphore is up to 1 mm long. Tepal
s are elliptic and up to 4 mm long by 2.5 mm wide. They are green when newly-opened, but later darken to red. The female inflorescence is similar in structure to the male one, but differs in having a shorter rachis (17–22 cm long) and longer pedicels of 5–15 mm, which either have greatly reduced bracts or lack them altogether. It also differs in that the tepals are narrower (up to 4 mm by 1.5 mm) and always green.
An indumentum
of orange or brown hairs (0.1–0.8 mm long) is present on the inflorescence as well as the bases, apices, margins, and midribs of the leaves. The stem is glabrous, whereas the hairs of the leaves are caducous, being present only on the upper parts of the plant.
Like all pyrophytic
Nepenthes from Indochina
, N. andamana has a well-developed rootstock.
, Thailand
. It grows terrestrially in sand
y soil and is only found at sea level. Its typical habitat is open savannah
and grassland
.
In the wild, N. andamana is sympatric
with N. mirabilis
, including one of its local variants, N. mirabilis var. globosa
. Natural hybrids between N. andamana and both of these taxa
have been recorded.
. It is also similar to the other Indochinese
endemics, including N. bokorensis
, N. kerrii, and N. kongkandana
.
Nepenthes andamana can be distinguished from all of these species on the basis of its caducous indumentum
, which is restricted to the extremities of the upper stem leaves and is up to 0.8 mm long. In contrast, N. bokorensis has a variable but persistent indumentum covering all vegetative and floral parts, N. kerrii has a persistent indumentum restricted to the leaf axils, N. kongkandana has persistent hairs covering the whole plant, and N. suratensis has a caducous indumentum up to 0.3 mm long covering the entire upper part of the plant. The lamina shape is also distinct, being linear to lanceolate. Both N. kerrii and N. kongkandana have obovate laminae, whereas those of N. bokorensis are wider (up to 8 cm versus up to 3.5 cm). Nepenthes bokorensis also differs in having ebracteate pedicels
and a wider peristome in lower pitchers (20 mm versus 10 mm).
In his description of N. andamana, Catalano also noted a number of other vegetative and floral features that separate this species from N. suratensis. The male flowers of N. andamana have red tepals and the androphore reaches only 1 mm in length, whereas those of N. suratensis have green tepals with red margins and a longer androphore of up to 3 mm. Additionally, the flower bract
s are bent outwards in the former and inwards in the latter. The extent of the glandular zone on the inner pitcher surface is more variable in N. suratensis, ranging from one-third to two-thirds of the trap's height. In N. andamana, it only covers around half of the inner surface. Both the lower and upper pitchers of N. suratensis have wider wings: up to 12 mm versus up to 6 mm in lower traps, and up to 3 mm versus up to 1 mm in aerial pitchers. Nepenthes suratensis also has a characteristically flattened peristome
, unlike the cylindrical lip found in N. andamana. Furthermore, the pitcher lid of N. suratensis is broadly to narrowly ovate and typically somewhat smaller than the trap's orifice, whereas that of N. andamana is orbicular to broadly ovate and usually slightly larger than the mouth. The lid of N. suratensis is also distinct in that it often has irregularly wavy margins and bears a small depression under its apex. In N. suratensis, the pitcher mouth is triangular as opposed to ovate, and larger in relation to the size of the trap. The spur
of this species is also shorter, being 3–5 mm long, compared to 5–7 mm in N. andamana. The upper pitchers of N. andamana often have a lighter pigmentation than those of N. suratensis, typically being whitish throughout. In addition, these traps often have a slightly lobed outer margin, a feature that is absent in N. suratensis.
. Some of these crosses involve the local variety of the latter species, N. mirabilis var. globosa
.
Pitcher plant
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...
endemic to Phang Nga Province
Phang Nga Province
Phang Nga is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, on the shore to the Andaman Sea. Neighboring provinces are Ranong, Surat Thani and Krabi. To the south is the Phuket province, but without land boundary to Phang Nga....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, where it grows at sea level in coastal savannah
Savannah
Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...
and grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
. It is thought to be most closely related to N. suratensis
Nepenthes suratensis
Nepenthes suratensis is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Surat Thani Province, Thailand, where it grows at sea level in coastal savannah and grassland...
.
The specific epithet andamana refers to the Andaman Sea
Andaman Sea
The Andaman Sea or Burma Sea is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Burma, west of Thailand and east of the Andaman Islands, India; it is part of the Indian Ocean....
coast of Thailand.
Botanical history
Nepenthes andamana was formally describedSpecies description
A species description or type description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species which have been described previously, or are...
by Marcello Catalano
Marcello Catalano
Marcello Catalano is an Italian naturalist and author specializing in carnivorous plants. As a result of this interest, which began in 1985, Catalano founded the Italian Carnivorous Plant Society and its quarterly magazine, AIPC News , at the end of the 1990s.From 2000 to 2004, he...
in his 2010 book, Nepenthes della Thailandia. The description was reviewed by Alastair Robinson
Alastair Robinson
Dr. Alastair S. Robinson is a British-American taxonomist and field botanist specialising in the carnivorous plant genus Nepenthes...
, while Andreas Fleischmann provided the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
translation. Catalano 013395 was designated as the holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
. This specimen was collected by Catalano in 2009 at sea level from Takua Pa, Phang Nga Province
Phang Nga Province
Phang Nga is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, on the shore to the Andaman Sea. Neighboring provinces are Ranong, Surat Thani and Krabi. To the south is the Phuket province, but without land boundary to Phang Nga....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. It is deposited at the Chulalongkorn University Herbarium
Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University is the oldest university in Thailand and is the country's highest ranked university. It now has nineteen faculties and institutes. Regarded as the best and most selective university in Thailand, it consistently attracts top students from around the country...
(BCU).
Description
Nepenthes andamana is a climbing plant growing to a height of approximately 3 m. The stemPlant stem
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
is terete and around 5 mm in diameter. Internode
Plant stem
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
s are up to 3.5 cm long. The stem ranges in colour from green to red.
Leaves are sessile and coriaceous in texture. The lamina (leaf blade) is linear to lanceolate, measures up to 30 cm in length by 3.5 cm in width, and is around 0.5 mm thick. Its apex is acute to narrowly acuminate and it is attenuate at the base, clasping the stem for around three-quarters of its circumference. Three longitudinal veins are present on either side of the midrib, restricted to the distal quarter of the lamina. Pinnate veins are also visible, and arise obliquely from the midrib. Tendril
Tendril
In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape that is used by climbing plants for support, attachment and cellular invasion by parasitic plants, generally by twining around suitable hosts. They do not have a lamina or blade, but they can photosynthesize...
s are up to 18 cm long and 2.5 mm in diameter. They are coiled in upper pitchers. The laminae are light green and commonly have a reddish hue, whereas the midrib and tendrils vary from green to red.
Rosette and lower pitchers are ovate in the basal third of the pitcher cup and narrower above. They measure up to 16 cm in height by 5 cm in width. The hip is located near the middle of the pitcher. A pair of wings (≤6 mm wide) runs down the ventral surface of the pitcher cup, bearing narrow fringe elements. The pitcher mouth is oval and has an oblique insertion. The peristome
Peristome
The word peristome is derived from the Greek peri, meaning 'around' or 'about', and stoma, 'mouth'. It is a term used to describe various anatomical features that surround an opening to an organ or structure. The term is used in plants and invertebrate animals, such as in describing the shells of...
is cylindrical and up to 10 mm wide at the sides, with teeth up to 1 mm long. The gland
Gland
A gland is an organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release of substances such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface .- Types :...
ular zone of the inner surface extends for about half of the pitcher's height. The pitcher lid or operculum
Operculum (botany)
An operculum, in botany, is a term generally used to describe a structure within a plant, moss, or fungus acting as a cap, flap, or lid. In plants, it may also be called a bud cap.Examples of structures identified as opercula include:...
is orbicular to broadly ovate. It is often somewhat vaulted and has a cordate base. It measures up to 4.5 cm in length by 4.5 cm in width, being larger than the pitcher orifice. The lower surface of the lid does not have any appendages, but bears numerous crater-like glands (≤1 mm in diameter), the largest of which are located around the midline. A spur (≤7 mm long) is inserted near the base of the lid. It is typically simple, but may occasionally be branched. On their outer surface, terrestrial pitchers are typically green to orange with red stripes, or red throughout. Red blotches are present in the waxy zone of the inner surface. The colour of the peristome is highly variable and may be green, white, orange, or red. The lid ranges in colour from orange to red, and bears fine red streaks.
The tubulose to narrowly infundibular upper pitchers are similar in size to their terrestrial counterparts, measuring up to 16 cm in height by 3 cm in width. The wings, if present, are up to 1 mm wide, otherwise they are reduced to a pair of ridges. The pitcher mouth is orbicular to broadly ovate and has an oblique insertion. The peristome of upper pitchers often has a slightly lobed outer margin. The lid as well as other parts of the pitcher are similar to those found in terrestrial traps. Aerial pitchers have a lighter pigmentation than their lower counterparts, being yellow to white on the outer surface. Red blotches may or may not be present on the waxy inner surface. The peristome is white throughout, while the lid may be green, yellow, or white.
Nepenthes andamana has a racemose
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
. In male plants, it reaches 110 cm in length, of which the peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
constitutes 45–65 cm and the rachis
Rachis
Rachis is a biological term for a main axis or "shaft".-In zoology:In vertebrates a rachis can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the rachis usually form the supporting axis of the body and is then called the spine or vertebral column...
20–45 cm. Around 40–190 flowers are produced. Most are borne solitarily on pedicels
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
measuring 3–6 mm in length, although some may have two-flowered partial peduncles. The pedicels often bear a bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
in their basal half. This structure is up to 2 mm long and is bent outwards from the pedicels. The androphore is up to 1 mm long. Tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s are elliptic and up to 4 mm long by 2.5 mm wide. They are green when newly-opened, but later darken to red. The female inflorescence is similar in structure to the male one, but differs in having a shorter rachis (17–22 cm long) and longer pedicels of 5–15 mm, which either have greatly reduced bracts or lack them altogether. It also differs in that the tepals are narrower (up to 4 mm by 1.5 mm) and always green.
An indumentum
Indumentum
The indumentum is a covering of fine hairs or bristles on a plant or insect.In plants, the indumentum types are:*pubescent*hirsute*pilose*villous*tomentose*stellate*scabrous*scurfy...
of orange or brown hairs (0.1–0.8 mm long) is present on the inflorescence as well as the bases, apices, margins, and midribs of the leaves. The stem is glabrous, whereas the hairs of the leaves are caducous, being present only on the upper parts of the plant.
Like all pyrophytic
Pyrophyte
Pyrophytes are plants which have adapted to tolerate fire. "Pyrophyte" comes from the ancient Greek "pyros" and "phytos" .Fire acts favorably for some species. "Passive pyrophytes" resist the effects of fire, particularly when it passes over quickly, and hence can out-compete less resistant...
Nepenthes from Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
, N. andamana has a well-developed rootstock.
Ecology
Nepenthes andamana is endemic to the coastal regions of Phang Nga ProvincePhang Nga Province
Phang Nga is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, on the shore to the Andaman Sea. Neighboring provinces are Ranong, Surat Thani and Krabi. To the south is the Phuket province, but without land boundary to Phang Nga....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. It grows terrestrially in sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
y soil and is only found at sea level. Its typical habitat is open savannah
Savannah
Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...
and grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
.
In the wild, N. andamana is sympatric
Sympatry
In biology, two species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus regularly encounter one another. An initially-interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sharing a common range exemplifies sympatric speciation...
with N. mirabilis
Nepenthes mirabilis
Nepenthes mirabilis , or the Common Swamp Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical carnivorous plant species of the pitfall trap variety. It has by far the widest distribution of any Nepenthes species and is known from the following countries and regions: Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia,...
, including one of its local variants, N. mirabilis var. globosa
Nepenthes mirabilis
Nepenthes mirabilis , or the Common Swamp Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical carnivorous plant species of the pitfall trap variety. It has by far the widest distribution of any Nepenthes species and is known from the following countries and regions: Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia,...
. Natural hybrids between N. andamana and both of these taxa
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
have been recorded.
Related species
Nepenthes andamana appears to be most closely related to N. suratensisNepenthes suratensis
Nepenthes suratensis is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Surat Thani Province, Thailand, where it grows at sea level in coastal savannah and grassland...
. It is also similar to the other Indochinese
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
endemics, including N. bokorensis
Nepenthes bokorensis
Nepenthes bokorensis is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Cambodia. It is known from Mount Bokor in the south of the country, and an as yet undetermined specimen suggests that it may also be present in other parts of the Dâmrei Mountains of Kampot Province...
, N. kerrii, and N. kongkandana
Nepenthes kongkandana
Nepenthes kongkandana is an undescribed tropical pitcher plant endemic to Songkhla Province in southern Thailand. This species is closely related to N. kerrii.-External links:*...
.
Nepenthes andamana can be distinguished from all of these species on the basis of its caducous indumentum
Indumentum
The indumentum is a covering of fine hairs or bristles on a plant or insect.In plants, the indumentum types are:*pubescent*hirsute*pilose*villous*tomentose*stellate*scabrous*scurfy...
, which is restricted to the extremities of the upper stem leaves and is up to 0.8 mm long. In contrast, N. bokorensis has a variable but persistent indumentum covering all vegetative and floral parts, N. kerrii has a persistent indumentum restricted to the leaf axils, N. kongkandana has persistent hairs covering the whole plant, and N. suratensis has a caducous indumentum up to 0.3 mm long covering the entire upper part of the plant. The lamina shape is also distinct, being linear to lanceolate. Both N. kerrii and N. kongkandana have obovate laminae, whereas those of N. bokorensis are wider (up to 8 cm versus up to 3.5 cm). Nepenthes bokorensis also differs in having ebracteate pedicels
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
and a wider peristome in lower pitchers (20 mm versus 10 mm).
In his description of N. andamana, Catalano also noted a number of other vegetative and floral features that separate this species from N. suratensis. The male flowers of N. andamana have red tepals and the androphore reaches only 1 mm in length, whereas those of N. suratensis have green tepals with red margins and a longer androphore of up to 3 mm. Additionally, the flower bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s are bent outwards in the former and inwards in the latter. The extent of the glandular zone on the inner pitcher surface is more variable in N. suratensis, ranging from one-third to two-thirds of the trap's height. In N. andamana, it only covers around half of the inner surface. Both the lower and upper pitchers of N. suratensis have wider wings: up to 12 mm versus up to 6 mm in lower traps, and up to 3 mm versus up to 1 mm in aerial pitchers. Nepenthes suratensis also has a characteristically flattened peristome
Peristome
The word peristome is derived from the Greek peri, meaning 'around' or 'about', and stoma, 'mouth'. It is a term used to describe various anatomical features that surround an opening to an organ or structure. The term is used in plants and invertebrate animals, such as in describing the shells of...
, unlike the cylindrical lip found in N. andamana. Furthermore, the pitcher lid of N. suratensis is broadly to narrowly ovate and typically somewhat smaller than the trap's orifice, whereas that of N. andamana is orbicular to broadly ovate and usually slightly larger than the mouth. The lid of N. suratensis is also distinct in that it often has irregularly wavy margins and bears a small depression under its apex. In N. suratensis, the pitcher mouth is triangular as opposed to ovate, and larger in relation to the size of the trap. The spur
Spur (biology)
A spur in botany is a spike, usually part of a flower.In certain plants, part of a sepal or petal develops into an elongated hollow spike extending behind the flower, containing nectar which is sucked by long-tongued animals . Plants with such structures include Delphinium, Aquilegia, Piperia, and...
of this species is also shorter, being 3–5 mm long, compared to 5–7 mm in N. andamana. The upper pitchers of N. andamana often have a lighter pigmentation than those of N. suratensis, typically being whitish throughout. In addition, these traps often have a slightly lobed outer margin, a feature that is absent in N. suratensis.
Natural hybrids
In the wild, N. andamana is only known to hybridise with N. mirabilisNepenthes mirabilis
Nepenthes mirabilis , or the Common Swamp Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical carnivorous plant species of the pitfall trap variety. It has by far the widest distribution of any Nepenthes species and is known from the following countries and regions: Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia,...
. Some of these crosses involve the local variety of the latter species, N. mirabilis var. globosa
Nepenthes mirabilis
Nepenthes mirabilis , or the Common Swamp Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical carnivorous plant species of the pitfall trap variety. It has by far the widest distribution of any Nepenthes species and is known from the following countries and regions: Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia,...
.
External links
- Photographs of N. andamana at the Carnivorous Plant Photofinder
- Nepenthes of Indochina by Marcello CatalanoMarcello CatalanoMarcello Catalano is an Italian naturalist and author specializing in carnivorous plants. As a result of this interest, which began in 1985, Catalano founded the Italian Carnivorous Plant Society and its quarterly magazine, AIPC News , at the end of the 1990s.From 2000 to 2004, he...