Nepenthes macrovulgaris
Encyclopedia
Nepenthes macrovulgaris (icon; from Greek
/Latin
: macro = large, vulgaris = common, usual), or the Serpentine Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant
endemic to Borneo
. It is a lowland plant that typically grows at altitudes ranging from 300 to 1200 m in sub-montane forest clearings and mossy forest. Its range is restricted to ultramafic habitats, including Mount Kinabalu
, Mount Nambuyukon, the Danum Valley, the Tawai Range, the Meliau Range and Mount Silam, all in Sabah
, Malaysian Borneo. Pitchers grow to around 25 cm high and range in colour from green to brown, with the speckled form being the most common.
and N. hispida
, and may be difficult to distinguish from them. Botanists Matthew Jebb
and Martin Cheek
suggest that N. macrovulgaris is also related to N. philippinensis
, a species endemic to Palawan
in the Philippines
.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
/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...
: macro = large, vulgaris = common, usual), or the Serpentine Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant
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 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 is a lowland plant that typically grows at altitudes ranging from 300 to 1200 m in sub-montane forest clearings and mossy forest. Its range is restricted to ultramafic habitats, including Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the tallest mountain in the Malay...
, Mount Nambuyukon, the Danum Valley, the Tawai Range, the Meliau Range and Mount Silam, all in Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
, Malaysian Borneo. Pitchers grow to around 25 cm high and range in colour from green to brown, with the speckled form being the most common.
Taxonomy
Nepenthes macrovulgaris is most closely related to N. hirsutaNepenthes hirsuta
Nepenthes hirsuta , the Hairy Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It is characterised by an indumentum of thick brown hairs, which is even present on the inflorescence. Pitchers are mostly green throughout with some having red blotches on the inside surfaces.N. hirsuta...
and N. hispida
Nepenthes hispida
Nepenthes hispida is a tropical pitcher plant species native to Borneo. It grows at elevations of 100 to 800 m in kerangas forest. It is known with certainty only from Lambir Hills National Park and surrounding areas....
, and may be difficult to distinguish from them. Botanists Matthew Jebb
Matthew Jebb
Dr. Matthew H. P. Jebb is an Irish taxonomist and botanist specialising in the ant plant genera Squamellaria, Myrmecodia, Hydnophytum, Myrmephytum and Anthorrhiza, as well as the carnivorous plant genus Nepenthes....
and Martin Cheek
Martin Cheek
Dr. Martin Roy Cheek is a taxonomist and botanist specialising in the carnivorous plant genus Nepenthes.-Research:Cheek has described several new Nepenthes species, mostly with Matthew Jebb, including: N. argentii, N. aristolochioides, N. danseri, N. diatas,...
suggest that N. macrovulgaris is also related to N. philippinensis
Nepenthes philippinensis
Nepenthes philippinensis is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines. It is known from Palawan and the Calamian Islands , where it grows at 0–600 m above sea level....
, a species endemic to Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
| N. macrovulgaris | N. hirsuta | N. hispida |
|---|---|---|
| leaves charteous ≤30 cm, oblong to linear | leaves coriaceous ≤20 cm, canaliculate-spathulate or obovate | leaves coriaceous sessile ≤28 cm, oblanceolate-oblongate |
| apex acute to obtuse | apex acute or roundish | apex acuminate-obtuse, often unequal |
| base attenuate into a winged petiole, wings wider towards the base, clasping stem for about ½ its diameter, not decurrent | base attenuate, forming laterally flattened, semi-amplexicaul sheath | base attenuate, amplexicaul and often decurrent onto the internode |
| longitudinal veins: 2-3 on each side | longitudinal veins not prominent | longitudinal veins: 3 on each side |
| adult pitchers and stem glabrous, young pitchers with short, thin hairs | stem densely covered with long brown hairs, not as bristle-like as those of N. hispida | stem very densely covered with bristle-like purple-grey hairs |
Etymology
Turnbull and Middleton, who described the species in 1988, explain that they chose the specific epithet macrovulgaris to:[...] indicate a relatively large plant and to indicate that no single characteristic uniquely distinguishes this taxon from all others. The suffix vulgaris does not indicate that this species is either common or ordinary. On the contrary, it is quite striking. The epithet is an irregular combination of Greek and Latin. The name was used in the field to identify living material which was distributed to growers and this informal name is now commonly used by collectors. We feel that to change the name now would create unnecessary confusion.
Natural hybrids
The following natural hybrids involving N. macrovulgaris 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. macrovulgaris - N. macrovulgaris × N. rajahNepenthes rajahNepenthes rajah is an insectivorous pitcher plant species of the Nepenthaceae family. It is endemic to Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount Tambuyukon in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Nepenthes rajah grows exclusively on serpentine substrates, particularly in areas of seeping ground water where the...
- N. macrovulgaris × 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...
- N. macrovulgaris × N. tentaculataNepenthes tentaculataNepenthes tentaculata , or the Fringed Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant with a very wide distribution across Borneo and Sulawesi...