Nepenthes maxima
Encyclopedia
Nepenthes maxima the Great Pitcher-Plant, is a carnivorous
pitcher plant
species of the genus
Nepenthes
. It has a relatively wide distribution covering Sulawesi
, New Guinea
, and the Maluku Islands
. It is closely related to N. eymae
.
In 2009, a cultivar
from Lake Poso
in Sulawesi
was named Nepenthes maxima ‘Lake Poso’.
Carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic...
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...
species of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Nepenthes
Nepenthes
The Nepenthes , popularly known as tropical pitcher plants or monkey cups, are a genus of carnivorous plants in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus comprises roughly 130 species, numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids...
. It has a relatively wide distribution covering Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, and the Maluku Islands
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
. It is closely related to N. eymae
Nepenthes eymae
Nepenthes eymae is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sulawesi, where it grows at elevations of 1000–2000 m above sea level. It is very closely related to N. maxima, from which it differs in its wine glass-shaped upper pitchers....
.
Infraspecific taxa
- Nepenthes maxima f. undulata Sh.Kurata (1985)
- Nepenthes maxima var. glabrata Becc. in sched. nom.nud.Nomen nudumThe phrase nomen nudum is a Latin term, meaning "naked name", used in taxonomy...
- Nepenthes maxima var. lowii (Hook.f.) Becc. (1886) [=N. stenophyllaNepenthes stenophyllaNepenthes stenophylla , or the Narrow-Leaved Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. The species produces attractive funnel-shaped pitchers up to 25 cm high...
] - Nepenthes maxima var. minor Macf. (1917)
- Nepenthes maxima var. sumatrana (Miq.) Becc. (1886) [=N. sumatranaNepenthes sumatranaNepenthes sumatrana is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, after which it is named.-Discovery and taxonomy:...
] - Nepenthes maxima var. superba (Hort.Veitch ex Marshall) Veitch (1897)
In 2009, a cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
from Lake Poso
Lake Poso
Lake Poso is a lake in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the third-deepest lake in Indonesia. The lake contains silver and yellow eels and two endemic fish species, Adrianichtys kruyti and Xenopoecilus poptae. The town of Pendolo is situated at the southern end of the lake, the town of Tentena is...
in Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
was named Nepenthes maxima ‘Lake Poso’.
Natural hybrids
- ? N. eymaeNepenthes eymaeNepenthes eymae is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sulawesi, where it grows at elevations of 1000–2000 m above sea level. It is very closely related to N. maxima, from which it differs in its wine glass-shaped upper pitchers....
× N. maxima - N. glabrataNepenthes glabrataNepenthes glabrata is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sulawesi. The species grows in open, high forest at elevations of 1600 to 2100 m. It produces dainty, colourful pitchers reaching only a few centimetres in height...
× N. maxima - N. klossiiNepenthes klossiiNepenthes klossii is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to New Guinea.-Botanical history:Nepenthes klossii was discovered in southwestern New Guinea during the Wollaston Expedition of 1912 to 1913...
× N. maxima - N. maxima × N. neoguineensisNepenthes neoguineensisNepenthes neoguineensis is a tropical pitcher plant native to the island of New Guinea, after which it is named.-Botanical history:Nepenthes neoguineensis was first collected in 1828 by Alexander Zipelius near Triton Bay, New Guinea. Two further collections were made by Gerard Martinus Versteeg on...