Nepenthes clipeata
Encyclopedia
Nepenthes clipeata or the Shield-Leaved Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant
known only from the near-vertical granite
cliff faces of Mount Kelam
in Kalimantan
, Borneo
. It has an altitudinal distribution of approximately 600 to 800 m.
Nepenthes clipeata is probably the most endangered
of all Nepenthes species, with only an estimated 15 plants remaining in the wild as of 1995 (although see N. pitopangii
).
, who summited Mount Kelam
5 times between January 30 and February 13. Hallier wrote an account of his discovery, which appeared in B. H. Danser
's 1928 monograph, "The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies
", and has been translated as follows:
Nepenthes clipeata is characterised by its peltate leaves, whereby the tendril joins the underside of the lamina before the apex. Pitchers are large and can be up to 30 cm high. They are globose at the base and slightly infundibulate (funnel-shaped) in the upper part. The species produces only one type of pitcher and the stem does not climb, reaching only 2 m in length. The inflorescence
is small, rarely exceeding 25 cm. All parts of the plant are densely covered with an indumentum
of long, brown hairs.
B. H. Danser wrote of this species in his monograph as follows:
No forms or varieties of N. clipeata have been described.
began to visit Mount Kelam
with increased frequency, placing pressure on wild populations of N. clipeata. Local guides also started to collect specimens for their villages, particularly those growing near the base of the mountain. Many of these plants did not survive and so more were harvested to replace them. Additional habitat
stresses were caused by the El Niño
of 1997 to 1998 and the resulting drought
s and forest fire
s. The combination of these factors contributed to the rapid decline of N. clipeata on Mount Kelam. In 1995, it was thought that only around 15 plants remained in the wild, while in 2001 Charles Clarke
gave an even lower estimate of 2–6 specimens. However, a 2010 study found 260 plants at 749–874 m altitude, scattered across 45 coordinates on Mount Kelam. The authors of the study noted that most of the observed specimens grew on inaccessible cliff sides. Of the flowering specimens seen by the authors, the majority were male.
Despite its rarity, N. clipeata is officially listed on CITES Appendix II and was until recently considered Data Deficient
by the IUCN. There is now little hope for the long-term survival of this species in the wild. The Nepenthes clipeata Survival Project (NcSP) has been set up by the International Carnivorous Plant Society
(ICPS) to facilitate ex situ conservation of the species. It is estimated that there are only three or four genetically-distinct lines of "white market" (legally collected) plants in cultivation.
In 2010, the Rare Nepenthes Collection was established with the aim of conserving 4 of the most threatened Nepenthes species: N. aristolochioides
, N. clipeata, N. khasiana
, and N. rigidifolia
.
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...
known only from the near-vertical granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
cliff faces of Mount Kelam
Mount Kelam
Mount Kelam is an exposed granitic dome in West Kalimantan, Borneo, with an elevation of 1,002 m.In 1894, German botanist Johannes Gottfried Hallier became the second European to climb Mount Kemal, after a certain Dr. Gürtler. Hallier ascended the summit 5 times between January 30 and...
in Kalimantan
Kalimantan
In English, the term Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, while in Indonesian, the term "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo....
, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. It has an altitudinal distribution of approximately 600 to 800 m.
Nepenthes clipeata is probably the most endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
of all Nepenthes species, with only an estimated 15 plants remaining in the wild as of 1995 (although see N. pitopangii
Nepenthes pitopangii
Nepenthes pitopangii is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Lore Lindu National Park in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Only a single plant of this species is known and efforts to locate further populations on surrounding mountains have so far been unsuccessful. Nepenthes pitopangii appears to be...
).
Discovery
Nepenthes clipeata was first collected in 1894 by Johannes Gottfried HallierJohannes Gottfried Hallier
Johannes Gottfried Hallier was a German botanist who was a native of Jena.He studied botany and zoology at the University of Jena under Christian Ernst Stahl and Ernst Haeckel , and continued his studies at the University of Munich under Ludwig Radlkofer and Richard Hertwig...
, who summited Mount Kelam
Mount Kelam
Mount Kelam is an exposed granitic dome in West Kalimantan, Borneo, with an elevation of 1,002 m.In 1894, German botanist Johannes Gottfried Hallier became the second European to climb Mount Kemal, after a certain Dr. Gürtler. Hallier ascended the summit 5 times between January 30 and...
5 times between January 30 and February 13. Hallier wrote an account of his discovery, which appeared in B. H. Danser
B. H. Danser
Benedictus Hubertus Danser , often abbreviated B. H. Danser, was a Dutch taxonomist and botanist...
's 1928 monograph, "The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies
The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies
"The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies" is a seminal monograph by B. H. Danser on the tropical pitcher plants of the Dutch East Indies, North Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, and eastern New Guinea...
", and has been translated as follows:
After once again climbing a steep slope with GleicheniaGleicheniaGleichenia is a genus of ferns.Species include:* Gleichenia abscida Rodway* Gleichenia alpina R.Br.* Gleichenia dicarpa R.Br. – Pouched Coral Fern, Tangle Fern* Gleichenia mendellii S.B.Andrews...
thickets, one stands suddenly beneath the high enclosing rock wall of the mountain ring. The smooth water-washed stone seamed with water channels shows no variation in structure, and it appears almost as if the whole mountain was composed of a single monstrous block of rock. On this wall has been erected the steep 45 metre high rattan ladder; it is secured only at the bottom, in the middle and in the solid earth at the top, the rest lying free against the stone... Just above the middle of the ladder a small thin patch of humus is found, just sufficient to allow one to stand and rest for a moment. Both here, and at the top of the ladder a Nepenthes plant with unusually large pitchers has established itself. In the basal part, the pitchers are expanded into a jug shape. They are thus able, on the one hand, to take up a large quantity of water, and on the other, to hinder the escape of insects which have fallen inside, by means of the relatively narrow neck. [translated from the original Dutch and German in Pitcher Plants of Borneo]
Description
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...
is small, rarely exceeding 25 cm. All parts of the plant are densely covered with 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 long, brown hairs.
B. H. Danser wrote of this species in his monograph as follows:
N. clipeata is one of the most aberrant and striking species of its genus. Especially the almost orbicular leaves, the thick, short, never curved tendrils, which are inserted far from the apex, the peculiar-shaped pitcher without wings and the strongly vaulted lid are very remarkable. A leaf form as aberrant as this, only occurs in the Philippine species N. truncataNepenthes truncataNepenthes truncata is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines. It is known from the islands of Dinagat, Leyte, and Mindanao. The species grows at an elevation of 0–1500 m above sea level...
. It is not known, in what manner N. clipeata grows. The following seems probable to me. The plant does not climb. The short and robust stems, petioles and tendrils prove, that the mentioned specimens are found in an open place. I can not imagine, in what manner the pitchers have been placed when the leaves were spread horizontally. Therefore I suggest, that the plant has grown against the perpendicular wall of the G. Kelam, and that the leaves stood vertically, the pitchers behind it. It is, however, improbable, that N. clipeata can grow only against perpendicular walls, but it is not clear, what may be the manner of growing in other habitats.
No forms or varieties of N. clipeata have been described.
Conservation
During the 1980s, plant collectorsPlant collecting
Plant collecting involves procuring live or dried plant specimens, for the purposes of research, cultivation or as a hobby.-Collection of live specimens:...
began to visit Mount Kelam
Mount Kelam
Mount Kelam is an exposed granitic dome in West Kalimantan, Borneo, with an elevation of 1,002 m.In 1894, German botanist Johannes Gottfried Hallier became the second European to climb Mount Kemal, after a certain Dr. Gürtler. Hallier ascended the summit 5 times between January 30 and...
with increased frequency, placing pressure on wild populations of N. clipeata. Local guides also started to collect specimens for their villages, particularly those growing near the base of the mountain. Many of these plants did not survive and so more were harvested to replace them. Additional habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
stresses were caused by the El Niño
El Niño-Southern Oscillation
El Niño/La Niña-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is a quasiperiodic climate pattern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years...
of 1997 to 1998 and the resulting drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
s and forest fire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
s. The combination of these factors contributed to the rapid decline of N. clipeata on Mount Kelam. In 1995, it was thought that only around 15 plants remained in the wild, while in 2001 Charles Clarke
Charles Clarke (botanist)
Dr. Charles M. Clarke is a botanist and taxonomist specialising in the carnivorous plant genus Nepenthes. Clarke has an honours degree in Botany from Monash University in Melbourne, and a Ph.D. in Ecosystem Management at the University of New England, in Armidale, New South Wales.Clarke first...
gave an even lower estimate of 2–6 specimens. However, a 2010 study found 260 plants at 749–874 m altitude, scattered across 45 coordinates on Mount Kelam. The authors of the study noted that most of the observed specimens grew on inaccessible cliff sides. Of the flowering specimens seen by the authors, the majority were male.
Despite its rarity, N. clipeata is officially listed on CITES Appendix II and was until recently considered Data Deficient
Data Deficient
Data Deficient is a category applied by the IUCN, other agencies, and individuals to a species when the available information is not sufficient for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made...
by the IUCN. There is now little hope for the long-term survival of this species in the wild. The Nepenthes clipeata Survival Project (NcSP) has been set up by the International Carnivorous Plant Society
International Carnivorous Plant Society
The International Carnivorous Plant Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1972. It is the International Cultivar Registration Authority for carnivorous plants...
(ICPS) to facilitate ex situ conservation of the species. It is estimated that there are only three or four genetically-distinct lines of "white market" (legally collected) plants in cultivation.
In 2010, the Rare Nepenthes Collection was established with the aim of conserving 4 of the most threatened Nepenthes species: N. aristolochioides
Nepenthes aristolochioides
Nepenthes aristolochioides is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra, where it grows at elevations of 1800–2500 m above sea level. It has an extremely unusual pitcher morphology, having an almost vertical opening to its traps....
, N. clipeata, N. khasiana
Nepenthes khasiana
Nepenthes khasiana |endemic]]) is a tropical pitcher plant of the genus Nepenthes. It is the only Nepenthes species native to India....
, and N. rigidifolia
Nepenthes rigidifolia
Nepenthes rigidifolia is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra, where it grows at elevations of 1000–1600 m above sea level.The specific epithet rigidifolia is formed from the Latin words rigidus and folia . It refers to the stiff, coriaceous texture of the leaf blade...
.
Natural hybrids
The following natural hybrids involving N. clipeata have been recorded.- N. albomarginataNepenthes albomarginataNepenthes albomarginata , the White-Collared Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant native to Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra...
× N. clipeata - N. clipeata × N. rafflesianaNepenthes rafflesianaNepenthes rafflesiana , or Raffles' Pitcher-Plant, is a species of pitcher plant. It has a very wide distribution covering Borneo, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore. Nepenthes rafflesiana is extremely variable with numerous forms and varieties described. In Borneo alone, there are at...
- N. clipeata × N. reinwardtianaNepenthes reinwardtianaNepenthes reinwardtiana , Reinwardt's Pitcher-Plant, is a Nepenthes species found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Although some sources have included Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore within the range of this species, these records appear to be erroneous.Nepenthes reinwardtiana has an...
External links
- Photographs of N. clipeata at the Carnivorous Plant Photofinder
- Nepenthes clipeata Survival Project