Nepenthes smilesii

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Nepenthes smilesii
In
Kampot Province
, Cambodia

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Nepenthaceae
Genus: Nepenthes
Species:
N. smilesii
Binomial name
Nepenthes smilesii
Hemsl. (1895)
Synonyms

Nepenthes smilesii (

savannah and grassland.[6]

The

specific epithet smilesii refers to plant collector Frederick Henry Smiles, who made the first known collection of this species.[5]

Botanical history

Nepenthes anamensis

Nepenthes smilesii was referred to as N. anamensis throughout most of the 20th century.[5] Further confusion resulted from the erroneous labelling of N. smilesii plants as N. thorelii in the horticultural trade.[5] In Pitcher Plants of the Old World, Stewart McPherson lists N. mirabilis f. smilesii and N. mirabilis var. smilesii as synonyms of N. smilesii,[5] but Marcello Catalano considers these to represent normal forms of N. mirabilis.[6]

Description

Nepenthes smilesii is a climbing plant growing to a height of 5 m.[5]

Its leaves are sessile and coriaceous (leathery) in texture. They are very narrowly linear, reaching 40 cm in length while only up to 4 cm wide.[5]

Ecology

In Kirirom National Park, Cambodia (~700 m asl)

Nepenthes smilesii has a widespread distribution throughout

above sea level, although it is more typically found at around 800 m.[5]

Nepenthes smilesii is notable among the Indochinese Nepenthes for experiencing extreme lows of temperature.[5]

Individual specimens of a

natural hybrid between N. smilesii and N. mirabilis have been recorded from Cambodia.[8]

Related species

Nepenthes smilesii appears most closely allied to N. kongkandana and may be difficult to distinguish from that species. It differs primarily in the shape of its laminae, which are linear to lanceolate with an acute apex, as opposed to obovate with an acuminate apex in the latter.[6] Nepenthes smilesii also differs in having shorter tendrils and a narrower peristome.[5]

Notes

a.
specific epithet is derived from Annam, a former territory in central Vietnam
.

References

  1. ^ . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Macfarlane, J.M. 1908. Nepenthaceae. In: A. Engler. Das Pflanzenreich IV, III, Heft 36: 1–91.
  3. ^ Mey, F.S. 2010. "Introduction to the pitcher plants (Nepenthes) of Cambodia" (PDF). Cambodian Journal of Natural History 2010(2): 106–117.
  4. ^ a b c Mey, F.S. 2009. N. smilesii in Kampot, Cambodia. Carnivorous Plants in the tropics.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l McPherson, S.R. 2009. Pitcher Plants of the Old World. 2 volumes. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
  6. ^
    Nepenthes della Thailandia: Diario di viaggio
    . Prague.
  7. ^ Nunn, R. & C.N.A. Vu 2016. An account of the Nepenthes species of Vietnam. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 45(3): 93–101.
  8. New Nepenthes: Volume One
    . Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 104–131.

Further reading

External links