Nepenthes leonardoi
Synonymy
Nepenthes leonardoi in Carniflora Australis 8(1): 5 (-19, fig. 1-11). 2011 [The specific epithet leonardoi was chosen to honour Leonardo Co, a celebrated Filipino botanist who, along with members of his team, tragically was killed on November 15th, 2010 in the forests on Leyte Island.C]. sec. McPherson & al. 2011
- Holotype (designated by McPherson, S. R., Bourke, G., Cervancia, J., Jaunzems, M., Robinson, A.S. & Fleischmann, A.S. 20111): Philippines, Palawan Island, Municipality of Narra, close to the summit of Schorn-carp Peak, 1490 m, November 20, 2010. S. McPherson SRM 5 (PPC)
Description
Terrestrial upright to scrambling or climbing unbranched shrub, to 4 m tall. Stem Cylindrical, 1.5-2.8 cm in diameter, internodes 1.5-18 cm long, compact in scrambling plants and elongated in climbing stems. Leaves: Coriaceous, petiolate or subpetiolate, lamina narrowly oblong, 15-50 cm long and 6-10 cm wide, apex usually acute or rounded, sometimes abruptly truncated, base shortly attenuate or obtuse, clasping the stem by two thirds its circumference to entirely. Tendril up to 130 cm long occasionally longer, particularly in lower pitchers, coiling in upper pitchers. Leaves of juvenile plants are commonly narrower to the base, developing a more oblong shape at submaturity. Tip of lamina occasionally meeting the tendril un equally on either side of midrib, one side up to 3 mm shorter than the other. Apex occasionally peltate, tendril emerging from the leaf up to 4 mm from the apex. Lower Pitchers: To 15 cm tall and 6 cm wide usually smaller, wholly ovate or urceolate, rarely globose. Wings up to 12 mm wide, with narrow filaments to 10 mm long. Pitcher opening oval or circular, up to 6 cm wide, elevated towards the lid and elongated into a prominent, narrow column. Peristome cylindrical, occasionally slightly flattened, to 2 cm wide, ribs to 2 mm high, spaced up to 2 mm apart, forming elongated teeth on the inner margin of the peristome up to 4 mm long. Inner surface glandular, usually only in lower two thirds of pitcher, or occasionally glandular throughout. Peristome expanding below the lid and up to 2.5 cm wide. Lid elliptic, up to 5.5 cm long and 3.5 cm wide. No appendage or keel. Spur up to 9 mm long and 3 mm wide at base, occasionally much smaller. Upper Pitchers: Wholly infundibular to infundibular in the lower quarter and cylindrical or rarely tubular above, up to 24 cm tall, 6 cm wide, typically much smaller. Wings absent, all other parts identical to the lower pitchers. Inflorescence: A panicle. Male inflorescence up to 50 cm long, although usually much smaller, particularly in exposed areas, 1 cm wide at base, rachis to 30 cm long. Female inflorescence up to 45 cm long, although usually much smaller, particularly in exposed areas, 1 cm wide at base. Vestigial leaf often present on inflorescence, below flowers. Inflorescence of both sexes up to c. 120 flowers, densely arranged, rachis comprising the distal quarter to half of scape , predominantly 1- flowered pedicels, but occasionally 2-flowered pedicels or a mix of both. Exposed plants exceptionally producing rigid inflorescences to 110cm long, with flowers present along distal 15% of inflorescence. Fruit to 8 mm long, seeds filiform, c. 7mm long, pale brown. Nepenthes leonardoi may flower both as a compact rosetted plant bearing only lower pitchers, or as a climbing vine. Male inflorescences have a distinctive, musty, sweet scent that is discernable up to 60 cm away. Scent of female inflorescence unknown. lndumentum: Consisting of simple, caduceus reddishcopper hairs to 2 mm long, usually shorter, sparsely present on all sides of the tendrils, and very sparsely along the margins of the lamina, underside of the midrib, and across the exterior surfaces of the pitchers. lndument of leaf margin and midrib are particularly conspicuous on developing (unfurling) leaves. Colour: All parts of the lamina and petiole may be pure green in shade, or reddish purple in direct sunlight. In a minority of plants, the lower surface of the leaf, and/or the stem may be pure red or reddish purple. Often the red stem colouration is discernable in young plants. The colouration of the lower and upper pitchers is very variable, and includes extremes not found in any documented Nepenthes of the Philippines. The exterior of the lower pitchers are typically orangey red, usually lined with faint, dark purple blotches. The peristome is bright red, usually suffusing dark reddish purple as the foliage ages, and the lid is variably yellow or orange, often with variable red suffusion. The wings may be the same colour as the exterior of the pitcher, or may be yellowish-green. The upper pitchers are mostly pure yellowish green, except for the peristome, which may be orange or red and, in some strains, faint dark red blotches may be visible on the exterior of the pitcher. Both pitcher types may often be pure burgundy at one end of a continuous spectrum, to pure yellowish green at the other end. Strains with burgundy pitchers are observed much more commonly than in all other closely associated species. Uniquely, the upper pitchers of a minority of plants may appear practically black. Flash photography reveals this dark colouration results from highly concentrated purple pigmentation and the indumentum of brown hairs, which combine to make the pitchers appear intensely dark, especially when wet.A
Conservation
Assessed as CR (critically endangered) according to the World Conser vation Union Red List Criteria B2a (IUCN 2001).B
Distribution (General)
Philippines, Palawan Island, Schorn-carp Peak (Shumkat Peak, Shumkak Peak) B
Habitat
Upper montane forest and upper montane scrub; 1300-1490 m a.s.l.B
Bibliography
Specimens
| Country | Date | Collector + collecting number | Herbaria | Type | Scan | Derivatives | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines, Palawan Island, Municipality of Narra, close to the summit of Schorn-carp Peak, 1490 m, November 20, 2010. S. McPherson SRM 5 (PPC) | |||||||
| Citation: Philippines, Palawan Island, Municipality of Narra, close to the summit of Schorn-carp Peak, 1490 m, November 20, 2010. S. McPherson SRM 5 (PPC) | |||||||