Nepenthes rosea
Synonymy
- Type: Catalano 015245 (BCU), Thailand, province of Krabi, 500 m, October 2014
Description
Terrestrial climber to 4 m tall. Stem terete, 3-4 mm in diameter, internodes 1-3 cm long, dormant buds to 3 mm long often present at leaf axil. Leaves coriaceous, lamina lanceolate, sometimes obovate in plants growing in shade, 10-24 cm long, 1.5-3.5 cm wide, apex acute to acuminate, base attenuate and sessile, clasping the stem by two thirds of its circumference, decurrent for 2-5 mm of its length; tendrils terete, 6-17 cm long, 1-1.5 mm in diameter, coiling in upper pitchers. Lower pitchers 8-15 x 3-4.5 cm, ovate in the lower third or lower half and tubular above, hip at the upper edge of the ovate part; two alae, 1-6 mm wide, run down ventral exterior surface from tendril to mouth, fringed with narrow filaments to 5 mm long; pitcher mouth oblique, ovate to triangular; peristome cylindrical, 2-5 mm wide, teeth to 1 mm long, ribs to 1 mm wide; lid orbicular to slightly ovate, flat, 2.5-4.5 x 3-4.5 cm, base cordate for 1-3 mm, lower surface without appendages, crateriform glands densely arranged and numerous, larger at the base of midrib, to 0.5-1 mm; spur 3-5 mm long, simple or rarely branched; longitudinal veins 3-4 on each side of midrib. Upper pitchers 11-18 x 1.5-3.5 cm, tubulose, slightly wider at the hip and under the mouth; alae 0.5 mm wide, without filaments; pitcher mouth oblique, triangular or more rarely slightly ovate; peristome cylindrical, 2-3 mm wide, without visible teeth and ribs to 0.8 mm wide; lid as for lower pitchers but 2-2.8 cm long and 2.1-2.9 cm wide, base cordate for 1-2 mm and spur 1-3 mm long. Male inflorescence a raceme, 40-50 cm, peduncle 25-30 cm long, rachis 10-25 cm long, ca. 25-90 flowers borne on pedicels 2-3 mm long, 2-flowered partial peduncles can be absent, present in the lowest part of the rachis or cover it all, androphore 1.5-2 mm long; tepals elliptic, green when young, then red, 3-3.5 x 2-3 mm; a bract, 0.5-2 mm long, can be present on some flowers; a different kind of bract, shaped like a miniature leaf and hosting a single flower, can be present 5-15 cm from the base of the rachis; a rosette can be present along the central part of the peduncle. Female inflorescence a raceme, 20-50 cm, peduncle 8-30 cm long, rachis 12-20 cm long, ca. 18-42 flowers borne on pedicels 3-8 mm long, tepals elliptic, green, 3 x 1.5-2 mm; 2-flowered partial peduncles, flower bracts, peduncle bracts and peduncle-borne rosettes as for male inflorescence. Indumentum of white hairs, 0.1 mm long, covering inflorescence and often leaf margins and midrib. Colour: leaves light to dark green; tendrils and stems green to light red; lower pitchers green to light pink, with dark pink stripes outside and uniformly green to dark pink over the inner, non-glandular zone, peristome green, white or light pink; upper pitchers light green outside, uniformly green, white or light pink over the inner, non-glandular zone, peristome green, white or light pink; lid green to pink.A
Notes
Nepenthes rosea belongs to the N. thorelii aggregate, a group spread in the strongly seasonal Indochina, with whose species it shares narrow decurrent leaves, a narrow rachis and an underground rootstock. It differs from all the other species of the aggregate in having a smaller stem (up to 4 mm vs. up to 5-9 mm in diameter). It differs from all of them except N. bokorensis in having a shorter leaf decurrency (1/6-1/2 of the internode vs. 1/2-whole). These two characteristics, together with the delicate color of the pitchers, give to N. rosea a somewhat gracile look, especially evident in the tallest plants. It also differs from all the species of the aggregate except N. chang and N. holdenii in the frequent presence of 2-flowered partial peduncles. It differs from N. smilesii, N. kampotiana, N. holdenii and N. chang, all members of the aggregate endemic of continental Indochina, in the presence of acuminate leaf tips, commonly found in the species of peninsular Thailand (N. kerrii, N. andamana and N. suratensis). A unique but not consistent feature is the rosette that can grow out of the peduncle, seen in about one third of the three hundred plants that we observed in the wild.A
Distribution (General)
"Peninsular Thailand, Krabi Province"A
Specimens
| Country | Date | Collector + collecting number | Herbaria | Type | Scan | Derivatives | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalano 015245 (BCU), Thailand, province of Krabi, 500 m, October 2014 | |||||||
| Citation: Catalano 015245 (BCU), Thailand, province of Krabi, 500 m, October 2014 | |||||||