Nepenthes minima
Description
Pyrophytic dioecious, terrestrial subshrub 0.3–0.6 m tall. Stems annual, erect, arising from a fleshy-leathery, vertical underground rootstock c. 8 by 2 cm, the upper part densely covered in the carbonised bases of stems resulting from fires in previous dry seasons. Rosette and climbing stems unknown and probably not produced. Short stems terete or slightly rounded-angular 3–5 mm diam, internodes (3.2–)4.5–5.2(–6) cm long, indumentum a mixture of dendritic and stellate hairs 0.2–0.7 mm long, dull white to orange-grey, 50–80 % cover at stem apex, decreasing to 10 % cover at the fourth internode from the apex. Leaves petiolate, blades elliptic-oblong, (4.8–)5–9(–12.5) by (1.3–)1.8–2(–3.5) cm, apex acute, tendrils apical 7–10 cm long, base cuneate; longitudinal nerves 3 on each side of the midrib in the outer third of the blade, all arising from the proximal two-thirds of the blade midrib; pennate nerves irregular, patent;
indumentum inconspicuous, dull white simple (or inconspicuously branched), and 2–4-armed sessile hairs 0.15–0.3 mm long, mixed with sessile depressed-globose glands 0.05 mm diam, indumentum covering c. 10 % of both upper and lower surface of young leaves, glabrescent. Petiole canaliculate, (2–)3–5 cm long, 0.2 cm wide, 0.2 cm high, indumentum as the blade, but slightly denser, and longer (to 0.6 mm long). Lower pitcher not recorded. Intermediate pitchers infrequently produced in mature plants, narrowly infundibulate-cylindrical c. 9 cm long, c. 2 cm wide below peristome, c. 1.5 cm diam half way between base and apex, with two fringed wings running from the peristome, 9/10 the length of the way to the base of the pitchers; fringed wings 2 mm wide, fringe-elements 1–3 mm long, 2–3 mm apart; outer surface of pitcher with similar indumentum to that of the upper pitchers (see below); mouth narrowly ovate, concave, arising abruptly at the rear into a column, oblique, inner surface not recorded; peristome rounded, 3–4.5 mm wide, ribs 0.4 mm apart, 0.1 mm high, separated by c. 12 well-marked parallel ridges, outer edge entire, recurved, inner edge recurved and with teeth inconspicuous, column triangular, c. 18 by 7 mm at the base; lid narrowly ovate, c. 25 by 16 mm, apex acute, base rounded, upper and lower surface similar to the upper pitchers (see below), apical appendage c. 4 mm long; spur simple, 6 mm long, indumentum of short
black hairs. Upper pitchers (tendrils coiled, dorsal to pitcher), green, slightly curved along main axis, narrowly infundibuliform, rarely cylindrical (5–)6–10.5(–12) by 1.2–1.5(–2.05) cm, narrowing to 1–1.2 cm wide halfway between base and peristome, the ‘hip’ not developed, wings absent; indumentum of the outer surface 10–30 % covered in three types of indumentum, large 3–5-branched, dendritic hairs 0.2–0.5(–0.7) mm long, (2–)5(–7) per mm2; small 4-armed stellate hairs (rarely bifid or trifid) 0.1 mm diam, 1–6 per mm2; sessile depressed-globose glands 0.05 mm diam, 4–7 per mm2; mouth narrowly ovate, flat and oblique in the frontal half, slightly concave in the rear part, rising to form a weakly defined column, inner surface at mouth with upper exposed half waxy, the lower half glandular, glossy; peristome flattened-cylindric in transverse section, 3–4.5 mm wide, ridges 0.25–0.5 mm apart, developed as acute low ridges 0.2–0.25 mm high, outer edge revolute, entire, inner edge with teeth 0.2 mm long and broad, visible only at the base of the
column, the inner edge otherwise folded inwards; lid narrowly ovate, 1.8–2.8 by 0.8–1.2 mm, apex acutely rounded, base truncate and shortly and abruptly cordate, upper surface with indumentum as the outer pitcher surface, lower surface with both a basal and apical appendage arising from the midline ridge, basal appendage inconspicuous, laterally flattened, inequilaterally triangular, c. 1.5 mm long, c. 0.8 mm high with nectar glands sparse, apical appendage filiform-cylindrical (1–)2.8–4 by 0.25 mm, arising 0.4–0.5 mm before the lid apex, with 3–7 nectar glands concentrated at the apex, nectar glands absent from the midline of the lid (except the midline in the distal part often with 1–2 longitudinally elliptic nectar glands up to 0.7 by 0.3 mm and from the marginal 0.2–0.3 mm numerous, mostly ± monomorphic and uniformly dense, c. 12 per mm2, orbicular, 0.15–0.25(–0.3) mm diam, bordered, the borders covering 30–50 % of the surface area, the peripheral nectar glands at the smaller end of the size range, and sparser, sessile depressed-globose or 8-rayed glands scattered over the entire surface, c. 0.05 mm diam, marginal 0.1–0.2 mm of lid with dense bushy hairs 0.05–0.1 mm long; spur filiform, simple, inserted 3–4 mm below the lid, 6 mm long, indumentum of short patent, black hairs with 100 % cover. Female inflorescence (male unknown) erect 21.2–33 by 3 cm, indumentum a mixture of randomly orientated appressed white hairs 0.1–0.4 mm long and red depressed-globose glands 0.06 mm diam extending from peduncle to lower surface of tepals, peduncle 7.2–16 cm long, by 0.2 cm diam, glabrescent; rhachis 13–17 cm long, 50–80 % covered in indumentum; partial-peduncles 20–27, each 1-flowered, bracts absent, pedicels 0.3–0.6 cm long, about 50 % covered in indumentum. Female flowers with tepals (4–)5–6, narrowly oblong-elliptic 2.3–2.6 by 0.8–0.9 mm, apex rounded, upper surface with 15–20 longitudinally elliptic nectar glands, lower surface about 20 % covered in hairs; ovary bottle-shaped, 3.5 by 1.1 mm, 100 % covered in white appressed hairs 0.2–0.3 mm long; stigmas four, bifurcate,
basally united, forming a head 1 mm diam, drying glossy black. Fruit valves 4, 9.5 by 1.5 mm, with dense appressed hairs. Seeds filiform-fusiform, 4.4 by 0.11 mm, pale yellow, central portion smooth. A
indumentum inconspicuous, dull white simple (or inconspicuously branched), and 2–4-armed sessile hairs 0.15–0.3 mm long, mixed with sessile depressed-globose glands 0.05 mm diam, indumentum covering c. 10 % of both upper and lower surface of young leaves, glabrescent. Petiole canaliculate, (2–)3–5 cm long, 0.2 cm wide, 0.2 cm high, indumentum as the blade, but slightly denser, and longer (to 0.6 mm long). Lower pitcher not recorded. Intermediate pitchers infrequently produced in mature plants, narrowly infundibulate-cylindrical c. 9 cm long, c. 2 cm wide below peristome, c. 1.5 cm diam half way between base and apex, with two fringed wings running from the peristome, 9/10 the length of the way to the base of the pitchers; fringed wings 2 mm wide, fringe-elements 1–3 mm long, 2–3 mm apart; outer surface of pitcher with similar indumentum to that of the upper pitchers (see below); mouth narrowly ovate, concave, arising abruptly at the rear into a column, oblique, inner surface not recorded; peristome rounded, 3–4.5 mm wide, ribs 0.4 mm apart, 0.1 mm high, separated by c. 12 well-marked parallel ridges, outer edge entire, recurved, inner edge recurved and with teeth inconspicuous, column triangular, c. 18 by 7 mm at the base; lid narrowly ovate, c. 25 by 16 mm, apex acute, base rounded, upper and lower surface similar to the upper pitchers (see below), apical appendage c. 4 mm long; spur simple, 6 mm long, indumentum of short
black hairs. Upper pitchers (tendrils coiled, dorsal to pitcher), green, slightly curved along main axis, narrowly infundibuliform, rarely cylindrical (5–)6–10.5(–12) by 1.2–1.5(–2.05) cm, narrowing to 1–1.2 cm wide halfway between base and peristome, the ‘hip’ not developed, wings absent; indumentum of the outer surface 10–30 % covered in three types of indumentum, large 3–5-branched, dendritic hairs 0.2–0.5(–0.7) mm long, (2–)5(–7) per mm2; small 4-armed stellate hairs (rarely bifid or trifid) 0.1 mm diam, 1–6 per mm2; sessile depressed-globose glands 0.05 mm diam, 4–7 per mm2; mouth narrowly ovate, flat and oblique in the frontal half, slightly concave in the rear part, rising to form a weakly defined column, inner surface at mouth with upper exposed half waxy, the lower half glandular, glossy; peristome flattened-cylindric in transverse section, 3–4.5 mm wide, ridges 0.25–0.5 mm apart, developed as acute low ridges 0.2–0.25 mm high, outer edge revolute, entire, inner edge with teeth 0.2 mm long and broad, visible only at the base of the
column, the inner edge otherwise folded inwards; lid narrowly ovate, 1.8–2.8 by 0.8–1.2 mm, apex acutely rounded, base truncate and shortly and abruptly cordate, upper surface with indumentum as the outer pitcher surface, lower surface with both a basal and apical appendage arising from the midline ridge, basal appendage inconspicuous, laterally flattened, inequilaterally triangular, c. 1.5 mm long, c. 0.8 mm high with nectar glands sparse, apical appendage filiform-cylindrical (1–)2.8–4 by 0.25 mm, arising 0.4–0.5 mm before the lid apex, with 3–7 nectar glands concentrated at the apex, nectar glands absent from the midline of the lid (except the midline in the distal part often with 1–2 longitudinally elliptic nectar glands up to 0.7 by 0.3 mm and from the marginal 0.2–0.3 mm numerous, mostly ± monomorphic and uniformly dense, c. 12 per mm2, orbicular, 0.15–0.25(–0.3) mm diam, bordered, the borders covering 30–50 % of the surface area, the peripheral nectar glands at the smaller end of the size range, and sparser, sessile depressed-globose or 8-rayed glands scattered over the entire surface, c. 0.05 mm diam, marginal 0.1–0.2 mm of lid with dense bushy hairs 0.05–0.1 mm long; spur filiform, simple, inserted 3–4 mm below the lid, 6 mm long, indumentum of short patent, black hairs with 100 % cover. Female inflorescence (male unknown) erect 21.2–33 by 3 cm, indumentum a mixture of randomly orientated appressed white hairs 0.1–0.4 mm long and red depressed-globose glands 0.06 mm diam extending from peduncle to lower surface of tepals, peduncle 7.2–16 cm long, by 0.2 cm diam, glabrescent; rhachis 13–17 cm long, 50–80 % covered in indumentum; partial-peduncles 20–27, each 1-flowered, bracts absent, pedicels 0.3–0.6 cm long, about 50 % covered in indumentum. Female flowers with tepals (4–)5–6, narrowly oblong-elliptic 2.3–2.6 by 0.8–0.9 mm, apex rounded, upper surface with 15–20 longitudinally elliptic nectar glands, lower surface about 20 % covered in hairs; ovary bottle-shaped, 3.5 by 1.1 mm, 100 % covered in white appressed hairs 0.2–0.3 mm long; stigmas four, bifurcate,
basally united, forming a head 1 mm diam, drying glossy black. Fruit valves 4, 9.5 by 1.5 mm, with dense appressed hairs. Seeds filiform-fusiform, 4.4 by 0.11 mm, pale yellow, central portion smooth. A
Notes
The species resembles a miniature form of Nepenthes maxima Reinw. ex Nees and has been circulating in horticultural circles as the cultivar N. maxima ‘Lake Poso’ (Evans 2009).A
Distribution (General)
Indonesia, Sulawesi TengahA