Nepenthes merrilliana

Synonymy

Nepenthes merrilliana Macfarl. in Trans. Proc. Bot. Soc. Pennsylv. 3(3): 208, t. 1. 1911 [The specific epithet honours American botanist, Dr. Elmer Merrill, who undertook extensive studies of the flora of the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific region during the first decades of the 20th century.C]. sec. Cheek & Jebb 2001

≡Nepenthes merrillii Elmer in Leafl. Philipp. Bot. 8: 2787. 1915 syn. sec. Cheek & Jebb 2001 [non Nepenthes merrilliana Macfarl. 1911]

Type: Philippines, Mindanao, Surigao Province, Dinagat Island, alt. 20 m, 1907, W.J. Hutchinson 7545 (PNH)1

1. n.v. for M. Cheek & M. Jebb, Flora Malesiana - Nepenthaceae, Series I, Volume 15. 2001

=Nepenthes surigaoensis Elmer in Leafl. Philipp. Bot. 8: 2785 (-2787). 1915 [The specific epithet refers to the Surigao Peninsula in northern Mindanao, from where this species was first collected.C]. syn. sec. Cheek & Jebb 2001

Type: Philippines, Mindanao, Agusan Province, Mt Urdaneta, alt. 1700 m, Sep 1912, A.D.E. Elmer 13705 p.p. (PNH†?)

Content

Other sources

Kurata, S. & Toyoshima 1972: Phillipine Species of Nepenthes. – Gard. Bull. Singapore 26: 155-158: 157

Jebb, M. H. P. & Cheek, M. R. 1997: A skeletal revision of Nepenthes. – Blumea 42(1): 1-106: 62

Description

Terrestrial or epiphytic shrub or low climber to 4 m tall. Stem usually winged, sometimes partly terete, 7-10 mm diam. Leaves thinly coriaceous, sessile, narrowly oblong to oblanceolate, 20-60 by 3.5-7 cm, apex acute or obtuse, base attenuate, clasping the stem by c. 1/2 the circumference and decurrent into two wings 3-7 mm wide extending half to one internode down the stem. Longitudinal nerves 6 or 7 on each side of the midrib in the outer 2/3, ± evenly spaced. Pennate nerves oblique, numerous, branching and inconspicuous near the margin. Lower pitchers broadly ovoid, to 31 by 16 cm, with two fringed wings, 7-14 mm broad, fringed elements 7-8 mm long, 1-4 mm apart, mouth elliptic, slightly oblique, straight; peristome flattened, 8-27 mm broad, ribs ± 1 mm apart, 0.5 mm high, outer margin sinuate, inner with teeth as long as broad; lid broadly ovate, 6-12 by 5-9 cm, apex rounded, base shallowly cordate, lower surface glossy, lacking appendages but midline carinate at base, nectar glands minute, inconspicuous, thinly scattered, pit-like, orbicular, 0.2-0.3 mm diam.; spur 10-12 mm long. Upper pitcher as the lower, but 20-26 by 9 cm, lacking fringes to the wings. Male inflorescence 30-51 cm long; peduncle 9.5-14 long, 0.6 cm diam. at base; partial peduncles 7-9 mm long, those at the base 2-flowered, at the apex sometimes 1-flowered; bracts absent; pedicels 14-15 mm long; tepals elliptic, 4 mm long; androphore 4-5 mm long; anther head 1 mm wide. Fruit unknown. Seed unknown. Indumentum absent from stems and leaves. Pitchers with sparsely scattered appressed simple hairs 0.75 mm long. Inflorescence minutely puberulent. Colour green, inner surface of pitcher glossy, splashed with red, peristome red.A

Notes

1. Nepenthes merrilliana vies with N. rajah of Borneo for the largest pitchers of the genus. From other Mindanaoan species of the genus it can be distinguished by its long, slender oblong or oblanceolate leaves, 20-60 by 5-7 cm, and the large pitchers with a broad, sinuous-edged peristome. Our knowledge of this species is still fragmentary.A

3. Danser in Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg III, 9 (1928) 330 identified a specimen (Riedel s.n., BO) from Gorontalo, Sulawesi as belonging to this species. However, it seems to us that the acute leaf apex, narrowed mouth and long peristome teeth of this specimen does not suggest that they are conspecific. Further material is needed from northern Sulawesi to elucidate the placement of this specimen.B

2. Nepenthes merrilliana is one of four endemics confined to the Surigao & Agusan Provinces of NE Mindanao, the others being: N. bellii, N. truncata, and N. petiolata.A

Distribution (General)

Philippines: Mindanao, Surigao and Agusan Provinces including Dinagat IslandA

Bibliography

A. Cheek, M. R. & Jebb, M. H. P. 2001: Flora Malesiana - Nepenthaceae, Series I, Volume 15. – Leiden: Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, Universiteit Leiden branch

B. Danser, B. H. 1928: – Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg, sér. 3, 9: 330

Specimens

Country	Date	Collector + collecting number	Herbaria
	1907	Hutchinson, W. J. 7545	PNH
Citation: Philippines, Mindanao, Surigao Province, Dinagat Island, alt. 20 m, 1907, W.J. Hutchinson 7545 Specimen summary: PNH Type for: Nepenthes merrilliana Macfarl.
	1912-09	Elmer, A.D.E. 13705 p.p.	PNH†?
Citation: Philippines, Mindanao, Agusan Province, Mt Urdaneta, alt. 1700 m, Sep 1912, A.D.E. Elmer 13705 p.p. Specimen summary: PNH†? Type for: Nepenthes surigaoensis Elmer