Nepenthes bellii
Nepenthes bellii | |
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An upper pitcher of N. bellii from Dinagat | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Nepenthaceae |
Genus: | Nepenthes |
Species: | N. bellii
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Binomial name | |
Nepenthes bellii | |
Synonyms | |
Nepenthes bellii
The
Botanical history
Nepenthes bellii was
Nepenthes globamphora, which is now considered to be a
The next detailed treatments of N. bellii appeared in Matthew Jebb and Martin Cheek's 1997 monograph, "A skeletal revision of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae)",[8] and their 2001 revision, "Nepenthaceae".[7] In the latter publication, Cheek and Jebb noted that little ecological data was known about the species and that it was represented in herbaria by only the two type collections (Kondo 11514 and Kurata & Toyoshima 1128) at the time.[7] Stewart McPherson's 2009 monograph, Pitcher Plants of the Old World, presented an updated description and colour habitat photographs of N. bellii.[4]
Description
Nepenthes bellii is a climbing plant growing to a height of 2.5 m
Leaves are
Rosette and lower pitchers are usually cylindrical or ellipsoidal throughout, but may also be
Upper pitchers are infundibular throughout, being variably swollen in the upper portion. They are frequently produced, although Cheek and Jebb reported seeing a flowering specimen that lacked upper pitchers.[7] Aerial traps are even smaller than their terrestrial counterparts and some of the smallest pitchers in the genus, reaching only 7.5 cm in height[7] and 3 cm in width.[4] Wings are reduced to a maximum width of only 4 mm with fringe elements up to 3 mm long, but may be absent altogether. The ventral surface between the wings or wing vestiges is usually slightly flattened. The peristome is often cylindrical and bulbous as in lower pitchers, but only up to 5 mm wide. It rises towards the rear, where it is broader. It bears ribs up to 0.5 mm high and spaced up to 1 mm apart, although in some specimens they are inconspicuous. The narrow peristome teeth are up to 1 mm long. The lid, which lacks appendages, is elliptic to ovate and up to 3 cm long by 2 cm wide. The unbranched spur reaches 7 mm in length.[4]
Nepenthes bellii has a racemose inflorescence up to 15 cm long by 1 cm wide. The peduncle itself reaches up to 9 cm in length, with a basal diameter of 1 mm. Flowers, which number up to 40 per inflorescence, are borne on one-flowered, ebracteate pedicels up to 4 mm long. Tepals are ovate and up to 2.5 mm long by 1.2 mm wide.[7] The androphore is around 1.5 mm long.[7] Fruits measure up to 20 mm in length.[4]
An inconspicuous indumentum of reddish or rust-coloured simple (unbranched) hairs measuring 0.1 mm in length may be present on the pitchers and inflorescence.[4][7] Tepals are minutely tomentose.[7] The stem, laminae and androphores are typically glabrous.[4][7]
The stem, tendrils and midribs are most commonly yellow to green, but may be tinged orange or red in some specimens; this more intense colouration seems to be associated with drought stress. The laminae are usually green, but may be orange, red, or even purple when young. These developing leaves gradually turn green with age. Plants often consist of 2 or 3 reddish leaves at the top with many green leaves below.[4] Lower pitchers are mostly green, yellow, orange or sometimes red, with darker blotches of orange to purple. The peristome and lid may be any of the base colours of the pitcher exterior, but without blotches. The inner surface is yellow or green and may have reddish speckles. Upper pitchers are similar but often lack blotches, being a solid green, yellow, orange, or red, although reddish aerial traps occasionally do bear some darker markings. Sometimes upper pitchers may have a contrasting combination of colours in the form of a reddish pitcher body and yellow or green peristome, or vice versa.[4]
No
Ecology
Nepenthes bellii is
The species grows terrestrially in a number of habitats, including lowland
Related species
The combination of subglobular lower pitchers, densely fringed wings (often with clustered filaments) and proportionately long tendrils separate N. bellii from all other species with the possible exception of the miniature N. argentii.[7] However, the latter species can hardly be confused with N. bellii as it does not produce a climbing stem, differs markedly in the shape of the lamina, and has a uniquely curved peristome that continues along the lower surface of the lid.[7]
Nepenthes bellii is closely allied to
Nepenthes bellii was also compared to N. micramphora in the formal description of the latter, in which the authors noted that the stem, laminae and inflorescence of N. micramphora match those of N. bellii "almost exactly".[13] Indeed, prior to the description of N. micramphora in 2009, the species was misidentified as N. bellii on its native Mount Hamiguitan.[14][15] Nepenthes micramphora can be clearly distinguished by its distinct pitchers and even smaller vegetative features.[13]
In their 2001 monograph, Martin Cheek and Matthew Jebb also noted a "remarkable resemblance" between the lower pitchers of N. tomoriana and those of N. bellii.[7]
Natural hybrids
Two
References
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ doi:10.2307/2483544
- ^ a b c Kurata, S. & M. Toyoshima 1972. Philippine species of Nepenthes. The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 26(1): 155–158. Abstract Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj McPherson, S.R. 2009. Pitcher Plants of the Old World. 2 volumes. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
- ^ Nepenthes bellii K.Kondo. International Plant Names Index (IPNI).
- ^ a b Schlauer, J. N.d. Nepenthes bellii. Carnivorous Plant Database.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an Cheek, M.R. & M.H.P. Jebb 2001. Nepenthaceae. Flora Malesiana 15: 1–157.
- ^ a b Jebb, M.H.P. & M.R. Cheek 1997. A skeletal revision of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae). Blumea 42(1): 1–106.
- ^ (in German) McPherson, S. & T. Gronemeyer 2008. Die Nepenthesarten der Philippinen: eine Fotodokumentation. Das Taublatt 60: 34–78.
- ^ a b c (in German) Gronemeyer, T. 2008. Nepenthes auf den Philippinen – ein Reisebericht. Das Taublatt 60: 15–27.
- ISSN 1179-3163.
- PMID 27164153.
- ^ a b Heinrich, V., S.R. McPherson, T. Gronemeyer & V.B. Amoroso 2009. Nepenthes micramphora (Nepenthaceae), a new species of Nepenthes L. from southern Mindanao, Philippines. In: S.R. McPherson Pitcher Plants of the Old World. Volume 2. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 1314–1319.
- Bauer, U., C.J. Clemente, T. Renner & W. Federle 2012. Form follows function: morphological diversification and alternative trapping strategies in carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 25(1): 90–102.
- Co, L. & W. Suarez 2012. Nepenthaceae. Co's Digital Flora of the Philippines.
- McPherson, S.R. & V.B. Amoroso 2011. Field Guide to the Pitcher Plants of the Philippines. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
- Meimberg, H., A. Wistuba, P. Dittrich & G. Heubl 2001. Molecular phylogeny of Nepenthaceae based on cladistic analysis of plastid trnK intron sequence data. Plant Biology 3(2): 164–175.
- (in German) Meimberg, H. 2002. Molekular-systematische Untersuchungen an den Familien Nepenthaceae und Ancistrocladaceae sowie verwandter Taxa aus der Unterklasse Caryophyllidae s. l.. Ph.D. thesis, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich.
- Meimberg, H. & G. Heubl 2006. Introduction of a nuclear marker for phylogenetic analysis of Nepenthaceae. Plant Biology 8(6): 831–840.
External links
- Photographs of N. bellii at the Carnivorous Plant Photofinder
- Videos of N. bellii at Redfern Natural History Productions