Nepenthes alata

Nepenthes alata (/nɪˈpɛnθiːz əˈlɑːtə/; from Latin alatus "winged") is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines.^[7]^[17] Like all pitcher plants, it is carnivorous and uses its nectar to attract insects that drown in the pitcher and are digested by the plant. It is highly polymorphic, and its taxonomy continues to be subject to revisions.

Description

N. alata can vary strongly in colouration and morphology. The floral formula is ✶ K4 A4+4+1* G0 for staminate (the apical stamen /*/ may not be present) and ✶ K4 A0 G(4) for pistillate flowers.^[18]

Taxonomy

Nepenthes alata has long been treated as a highly polymorphic species spanning all the major islands of the Philippine archipelago (with the possible exception of Palawan).^[19] Under this broad circumscription, N. alata was understood to have an altitudinal range of 0–1,900 m (0–6,234 ft) above sea level^[17] and was recorded from, among others, the islands of Bohol, Camiguin, Cebu, Culion, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Panay, Samar,^[20]^[21] and Sibuyan. Nepenthes alata in this broad sense (sensu lato) is one of the easiest and most popular Nepenthes in cultivation.^[22]

In 2013, N. alata was redelimited by Martin Cheek and Matthew Jebb to encompass only those populations from northern and central Luzon with conspicuously hairy pitchers (a taxon known in horticultural circles as the "hairy N. alata").^[7] Cheek and Jebb's N. alata sensu stricto has an altitudinal distribution of 550 m (1,800 ft) and above.^[7] Under this interpretation, the more southerly plants previously referred to this species actually represent the newly resurrected N. graciliflora (the "typical N. alata" of horticulture; found on Bohol, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Panay, Samar, and Sibuyan) as well as the newly described N. negros (Biliran and Negros) and N. ramos (Mindanao).^[7]^[23] Nepenthes viridis from Dinagat and Samar is another close relative,^[24] as are N. ceciliae (Mindanao), N. copelandii (Mindanao), N. extincta (Mindanao), N. hamiguitanensis (Mindanao), N. kitanglad (Mindanao), N. kurata (Mindanao), N. leyte (Leyte), N. mindanaoensis (Dinagat and Mindanao), N. saranganiensis (Mindanao), and N. ultra (Luzon).^[7]^[17]^[23]^[25]^[26]^[27] Together these species form the so-called "N. alata group", being united by a number of morphological characters including winged petioles, lids with basal ridges on the lower surface (often elaborated into appendages), and upper pitchers that are usually broadest near the base.^[25]

Nepenthes alata is closely related to several other species, including N. copelandii, N. mindanaoensis, and N. saranganiensis. Nepenthes eustachya from Sumatra was once considered to fall within the variability of N. alata, but this was based on a misinterpretation of type specimens; these two species do not seem closely related to each other.^{[citation needed]}

Infraspecific taxa

N. alata f. variegata Hort. ex P.Mann (1996) nom.nud.
N. alata var. biflora Macfarl. (1908)^[28] [=N. negros]^[7]
N. alata var. ecristata Macfarl. (1908)^[28] [=N. kurata]^[25]

Natural hybrids

N. alata × N. burkei^[17]
N. alata × N. merrilliana [=N. × merrilliata]^[21]^[29]
? (N. alata × N. merrilliana) × N. mirabilis [=N. × tsangoya]
N. alata × N. mindanaoensis^[17]
N. alata × N. mirabilis [=N. × mirabilata]^[16]^[30]
? N. alata × N. petiolata^[16]^[30]
N. alata × N. pulchra^[19]
N. alata × N. truncata [=N. × truncalata]^[29]
N. alata × N. ventricosa [=N. × ventrata]^[31]

References

^ Clarke, C.M. (2018). "Nepenthes alata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T49120197A143972386. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T49120197A143972386.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^ (in Spanish) Blanco, F.M. 1837. Nepenthes. In: Flora de Filipinas. Segun el Sistema sexual de Linneo. Sto. Thomas por D. Candido Lopez, Manila. pp. 805–809.
^ (in Latin) Blume, C.L. 1852. Ord. Nepenthaceae. In: Museum Botanicum Lugduno-Batavum, sive stirpium exoticarum novarum vel minus cognitarum ex vivis aut siccis brevis expositio. Tom. II. Nr. 1. E.J. Brill, Lugduni-Batavorum. pp. 5–10.
^ Cheek, M. & M. Jebb 2013. Identification and typification of Nepenthes blancoi, with N. abalata sp. nov. from the western Visayas, Philippines. Nordic Journal of Botany 31(2): 151–156. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.2012.00012.x
^ (in French) Brongniart, A. 1824. Observations sur les genres Cytinus et Nepenthes. Annales des Sciences Naturelles 1: 29–52.
^ Danser, B.H. 1928. 1. Nepenthes alata Blanco. [pp. 258–262] In: The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg, Série III, 9(3–4): 249–438.
^ a b c d e f g Cheek, M. & M. Jebb 2013. Typification and redelimitation of Nepenthes alata with notes on the N. alata group, and N. negros sp. nov. from the Philippines. Nordic Journal of Botany 31(5): 616–622. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.2012.00099.x
^ Clarke, C. & C.C. Lee 2012. A revision of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae) from Gunung Tahan, Peninsular Malaysia. Archived 2013-10-07 at the Wayback Machine Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 64(1): 33–49.
^ Schlauer, J. N.d. Nepenthes alata. Carnivorous Plant Database.
^ Smythies, B.E. 1965. The distribution and ecology of pitcher-plants (Nepenthes) in Sarawak. UNESCO Humid Tropics Symposium, June–July 1963, Kuching, Sarawak.
^ Kurata, S. 1973. Nepenthes from Borneo, Singapore and Sumatra. The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 26(2): 227–232.
^ (in Indonesian) Tamin, R. & M. Hotta 1986. Nepenthes di Sumatera: The genus Nepenthes of the Sumatra Island. In: M. Hotta (ed.) Diversity and Dynamics of Plant Life in Sumatra: Forest Ecosystem and Speciation in Wet Tropical Environments. Part 1: Reports and Collection of Papers. Kyoto University, Kyoto. pp. 75–109.
^ Hopkins, M., R. Maulder & B.[R.] Salmon 1990. A real nice trip to Southeast Asia. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 19(1–2): 19–28.
^ Shivas, R.G. 1984. Pitcher Plants of Peninsular Malaysia & Singapore. Maruzen Asia, Kuala Lumpur.
^ Jebb, M.H.P. & M.R. Cheek 1997. A skeletal revision of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae). Blumea 42(1): 1–106.
^ a b c Cheek, M.R. & M.H.P. Jebb 2001. Nepenthaceae. Flora Malesiana 15: 1–157.
^ a b c d e McPherson, S.R. 2009. Pitcher Plants of the Old World. 2 volumes. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
^ Ronse De Craene, Louis P. (2010-02-04). Floral Diagrams: An Aid to Understanding Flower Morphology and Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-521-49346-8.
^ a b McPherson, S.R. & V.B. Amoroso 2011. Field Guide to the Pitcher Plants of the Philippines. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
^ Suarez, W. 2011. Samar's Nepenthes alata^{[permanent dead link]}. Carnivorous Plants in the tropics, January 12, 2011.
^ a b Robinson, A. 2012. Nepenthes merrilliana on Samar Archived 2012-07-22 at the Wayback Machine. Carnivorous Plants in the tropics, June 29, 2012.
^ Catalano, M. 2009. Nepenthes. In: Growing Carnivores — an Italian perspective. Prague. pp. 50–57.
^ a b Cheek, M. & M. Jebb 2013. Nepenthes ramos (Nepenthaceae), a new species from Mindanao, Philippines. Willdenowia 43(1): 107–111. doi:10.3372/wi.43.43112
^ (in German) Micheler, M., T. Gronemeyer, A. Wistuba, D. Marwinski, W. Suarez & V. Amoroso 2013. Nepenthes viridis, eine neue Nepenthes-Art von der Insel Dinagat, Philippinen. Das Taublatt 76: 4–21.
^ a b c Cheek, M. & M. Jebb 2013. Recircumscription of the Nepenthes alata group (Caryophyllales: Nepenthaceae), in the Philippines, with four new species. European Journal of Taxonomy 69: 1–23. doi:10.5852/ejt.2013.69
^ Cheek, M. & M. Jebb 2013. Nepenthes ultra (Nepenthaceae), a new species from Luzon, Philippines. Blumea, published online on October 24, 2013. doi:10.3767/000651913X675124
^ Mey, F.S. 2013. The Nepenthes alata group: resurrection of N. graciliflora ; N. ramos and N. negros described as new species. Strange Fruits: A Garden's Chronicle, August 27, 2013.
^ a b Macfarlane, J.M. 1908. Nepenthaceae. In: A. Engler. Das Pflanzenreich IV, III, Heft 36: 1–91.
^ a b Mann, P. 1998. A trip to the Philippines. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 27(1): 6–11.
^ a b 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
^ Fleming, R. 1979. Hybrid Nepenthes. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 8(1): 10–12.

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