Nepenthes suratensis

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Nepenthes suratensis
A lower pitcher of Nepenthes suratensis

Critically Endangered  (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. suratensis
Binomial name
Nepenthes suratensis
M.Catal. (2010)[2]

Nepenthes suratensis is a tropical

savannah and grassland.[2] It is thought to be most closely related to N. andamana.[2][3]

The

Surat Thani Province and the Latin ending -ensis
, meaning "from".

Botanical history

The first known collection of N. suratensis was made by

Surat Thani Province, Thailand. It is deposited at the Bangkok Herbarium (BK).[2]

The holotype and earliest known specimen of N. suratensis (Kerr 13136)

Nepenthes suratensis was

Nepenthes della Thailandia: Diario di viaggio.[3] The description was reviewed by Alastair Robinson, while Andreas Fleischmann provided the Latin translation.[2] Kerr 13136 was designated as the holotype.[2]

Description

Nepenthes suratensis is a climbing plant growing to a height of approximately 3 m. The stem is terete and up to 5 mm in diameter. Internodes are up to 6.5 cm long. The stem ranges in colour from green to red.[2]

Leaves are

midrib, restricted to the distal quarter of the lamina. Pinnate veins are also visible, and arise obliquely from the midrib. Tendrils are up to 24 cm long and 2 mm in diameter. They are coiled in upper pitchers. The laminae are light green, whereas the midrib and tendrils vary from green to red.[2]

A typical lower pitcher

Rosette and lower pitchers are either wholly

ventral surface of the pitcher cup, bearing narrow fringe elements. The pitcher mouth is smoothly triangular and has an oblique insertion. The peristome is flattened and up to 10 mm wide, with teeth up to 1 mm long. The extent of the glandular zone of the inner surface is variable, ranging from one-third to two-thirds of the pitcher's height. The pitcher lid or operculum is broadly to narrowly ovate. It has a slightly cordate base and is often irregularly wavy at the margins. It measures up to 4.5 cm in length by 3.5 cm in width, being as large as or smaller than the pitcher orifice. The lower surface of the lid does not have any appendages, but bears numerous crater-like glands (≤1 mm in diameter), the largest of which are located around the midline. A small depression is also present on the lower surface of the lid, near the apex. An unbranched spur (≤5 mm long) is inserted near the base of the lid. On their outer surface, terrestrial pitchers are typically green to orange with red stripes, or red throughout. Red blotches are present in the waxy zone of the inner surface. The colour of the peristome is highly variable and may be green to orange or red. The lid ranges in colour from orange to red, and bears fine red streaks.[2][4]

A collection of lower, intermediate, and upper pitchers of N. suratensis

The tubulose to narrowly infundibular upper pitchers are similar in size to their terrestrial counterparts, measuring up to 18 cm in height by 3 cm in width. The wings, if present, are up to 3 mm wide, otherwise they are reduced to a pair of ridges. The pitcher mouth is smoothly triangular and has an oblique insertion. The peristome and lid, as well as other parts of the pitcher, are similar to those found in terrestrial traps. Aerial pitchers have a lighter pigmentation than their lower counterparts, being green to yellow on the outer surface. As in lower pitchers, red blotches are present on the waxy inner surface. Both the peristome and lid range in colour from green to yellow.[2]

Nepenthes suratensis has a racemose inflorescence. In male plants, it reaches 70 cm in length, of which the peduncle constitutes about 50 cm and the rachis 20 cm. Around 180 flowers are produced. These are borne solitarily on pedicels measuring 3–8 mm in length. The pedicels often bear a bract in their basal half. This structure is up to 1.5 mm long and is bent inwards relative to the pedicels. The androphore is up to 3 mm long. Tepals are elliptic and up to 5 mm long by 3 mm wide. They are predominantly green with red margins. The female inflorescence is similar in structure to the male one, but differs in having a shorter rachis (10–15 cm long) and longer pedicels of 4–10 mm, which either have greatly reduced bracts or lack them altogether. It also differs in that the tepals are smaller (up to 4 mm by 2 mm) and always green.[2]

An indumentum of orange or brown hairs (0.1–0.3 mm long) is present on the inflorescence, leaves, and stem. These hairs are caducous and consequently the lower parts of the plant are glabrous.[2]

Like all

Indochina, N. suratensis has a well-developed rootstock.[3]

Ecology

Nepenthes suratensis is

above sea level.[5][6] Its typical habitat is open scrub and grassland, but it has also been recorded from the steep slopes of low hills.[1][2]

Only three subpopulations of N. suratensis are known to be

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species on account of the surveyed subpopulation's predicted decline of ≥80% over the next three years as a result of planned urban development.[1]

Nepenthes suratensis has no known

natural hybrids.[3]

Related species

The pitchers of N. andamana (pictured) differ from those of N. suratensis in having narrower wings, a cylindrical peristome, and a smaller, ovate mouth.

Nepenthes suratensis appears to be most closely related to

Indochinese endemics, including N. bokorensis, N. kerrii, and N. kongkandana.[2]

Nepenthes suratensis can be distinguished from all of these species on the basis of its

leaf axils,[9] and N. kongkandana has persistent hairs covering the whole plant.[2] The lamina shape is also distinct, being linear to lanceolate.[3] Both N. kerrii[9] and N. kongkandana have obovate laminae, whereas those of N. bokorensis are wider (up to 8 cm versus up to 4 cm). Nepenthes bokorensis also differs in having ebracteate pedicels and a wider peristome in lower pitchers (20 mm versus 10 mm).[2][8]

In his description of N. suratensis, Catalano also noted a number of other vegetative and floral features that separate this species from N. andamana.

spur of this species is also shorter, being 3–5 mm long, compared to 5–7 mm in N. andamana. The upper pitchers of N. andamana often have a lighter pigmentation than those of N. suratensis, typically being whitish throughout. In addition, these traps often have a slightly lobed outer margin, a feature that is absent in N. suratensis.[2][7]

In his Carnivorous Plant Database, taxonomist

heterotypic synonym of N. thorelii.[10]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T21848236A21848252.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^
    Nepenthes della Thailandia: Diario di viaggio
    . Prague. p. 36.
  3. ^
    Nepenthes della Thailandia: Diario di viaggio
    . Prague.
  4. ^ Guerini, M. 2011. "2010: new species of Carnivorous Plants" (PDF). Associazione Italiana Piante Carnivore.
  5. New Nepenthes: Volume One
    . Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
  6. Field Guide to the Pitcher Plants of Peninsular Malaysia and Indochina
    . Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
  7. ^
    Nepenthes della Thailandia: Diario di viaggio
    . Prague. p. 34.
  8. ^ a b Mey, F.S. 2009. "Nepenthes bokorensis, a new species of Nepenthaceae from Cambodia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Carniflora Australis 7(1): 6–15.
  9. ^
    Nepenthes della Thailandia: Diario di viaggio
    . Prague. p. 32.
  10. ^ Schlauer, J. N.d. Nepenthes suratensis Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Carnivorous Plant Database.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nepenthes suratensis.
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