Nepenthes attenboroughii
Encyclopedia
Nepenthes attenboroughii ( or ˌætɨnbəˈroʊɡi.aɪ) is a montane
species
of insectivorous
pitcher plant
of the genus
Nepenthes
. It is named after the celebrated broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough
, who is a keen enthusiast of the genus. The species is characterised by its large and distinctive bell-shaped lower and upper pitchers and narrow, upright lid. The type specimen of N. attenboroughii was collected on the summit of Mount Victoria
, an ultramafic mountain in central Palawan
, the Philippines
.
In May 2010, the International Institute for Species Exploration
at Arizona State University
selected N. attenboroughii as one of the "top 10 new species described in 2009".
and Volker B. Heinrich in June 2007, during a 2 month research expedition to catalogue the different species of pitcher plant
found across the Philippine Archipelago. The expedition was initiated after missionaries reported seeing giant Nepenthes on the mountain in 2000.
The formal description of N. attenboroughii was published in February 2009 in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society
. The herbarium
specimen A. Robinson AR001 is the designated holotype
, and is deposited at the herbarium of Palawan State University
(PPC), Puerto Princesa City
.
Further accounts of this species appeared in McPherson's Pitcher Plants of the Old World
, published in May 2009, and in the December 2009 issue of the Carnivorous Plant Newsletter
.
are up to 30 cm long and 10 cm wide, whereas those of the scrambling stem are up to 40 cm long and 15 cm wide. The leaves are oblong to elliptic, obtuse at the apex and shortly attenuate at the base, clasping the stem by approximately two-thirds of its circumference and becoming decurrent for 2–3 cm.
Nepenthes attenboroughii produces some of the largest pitchers in the genus, sometimes exceeding those of typical N. rajah
in size, but is not known to have exceeded the size and volume records set by that species. The largest recorded pitcher of N. attenboroughii measured more than 1.5 litres in volume, and traps exceeding 2 litres are likely to be produced on occasion. The lower pitchers are brittle and campanulate (bell-shaped), up to 30 cm tall and 16 cm wide and emerge from tendril
s that are 30–40 cm long and 4–9 mm in diameter. The tendrils are flattened towards the leaf, making them almost semi-circular in cross section.
The upper pitchers are similar to the lower pitchers, but generally infundibular, to 25 cm tall and 12 cm wide.
inflorescence
up to 80 cm long. The male flower spike bears approximately 100 pedicel
late flowers on a rachis
up to 45 cm long and is recorded to bifurcate on occasion. The flowers lack bracts and produce red tepals that are broadly ovate with an obtuse
apex.
The female inflorescence is shorter, to 65 cm long, never bifurcates, and bears up to 70 densely arranged flowers on a compact rachis up to 20 cm long. The tepals are brown to purple, ovate, and have an acute
apex.
. There, it grows from 1450 m above sea level to the summit of Mount Victoria
at 1726 m. Originally known only from Mount Victoria itself, it has since been found on a number of minor peaks and connecting ridges. The species is found among shrubs 0.8–1.8 m tall in relatively scattered populations of plants on rocky, ultramafic soil. It is not sympatric with other Nepenthes species and no natural hybrids have been recorded.
The summit flora of Mount Victoria includes Leptospermum
sp., Medinilla
spp., Pleomele
sp., Vaccinium
sp., various grass
es, as well as the sundew
Drosera ultramafica
, which grows at similar elevations to N. attenboroughii.
The pitchers of N. attenboroughii are open to the elements and thus often completely filled with fluid. This fluid is viscous in the lower part of the pitcher and watery above, forming two fractions that do not mix. The upper fraction supports populations of pitcher infauna
, particularly mosquito
larva
e, and the pitchers of this species may benefit from both the usual capture of prey as well as the detritus
produced by organisms living within the pitcher fluid.
In the latter half of 2009, this taxon received a great deal of publicity in the national press of various countries as a sensational new plant that catches and kills rats. Whilst certainly large enough to trap rodents, no rodents of any kind have yet been observed within the pitchers of this species, as indicated in the type description and through subsequent clarification by the author, who suggests that should rodents be captured by the plant, it is likely to be through misadventure rather than by design; instead, large bugs and flying insects appear to be the usual prey.
species, N. deaniana
, N. leonardoi
, N. mantalingajanensis
, N. mira
, and N. palawanensis
(which produces even larger pitchers), to N. peltata
from Mindanao
, and to N. rajah
from Borneo
.
The stated relationship of this taxon with species from Borneo and Mindanao agrees with observations made in the description of N. mira
, and is further supported in the type description of N. attenboroughii by previously overlooked paleogeographical evidence. Based on this evidence, the authors reason that these species, predominantly found growing on ultramafic soils on Palawan
and Mindanao
, are likely to have arisen as a result of the radiative speciation of a common ancestor in Borneo
.
Montane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of insectivorous
Carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic...
pitcher plant
Pitcher plant
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...
of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Nepenthes
Nepenthes
The Nepenthes , popularly known as tropical pitcher plants or monkey cups, are a genus of carnivorous plants in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus comprises roughly 130 species, numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids...
. It is named after the celebrated broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
, who is a keen enthusiast of the genus. The species is characterised by its large and distinctive bell-shaped lower and upper pitchers and narrow, upright lid. The type specimen of N. attenboroughii was collected on the summit of Mount Victoria
Mount Victoria, Palawan
Mount Victoria , or Victoria Peak, is a mountain in central Palawan, Philippines, that lies within the administrative Municipality of Narra...
, an ultramafic mountain in central Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
In May 2010, the International Institute for Species Exploration
International Institute for Species Exploration
The International Institute for Species Exploration is a research institute hosted by Arizona State University, dedicated to improving taxonomical exploration and the cataloguing of new species of flora and fauna. It is located in Tempe, Arizona, in the United States of America. The institute's...
at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
selected N. attenboroughii as one of the "top 10 new species described in 2009".
Botanical history
Nepenthes attenboroughii was discovered by Alastair S. Robinson, Stewart R. McPhersonStewart McPherson (geographer)
Stewart R. McPherson is a British geographer.He studied at the University of Durham in England, the University of Tübingen in Germany and Yale University in the United States....
and Volker B. Heinrich in June 2007, during a 2 month research expedition to catalogue the different species of pitcher plant
Pitcher plant
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...
found across the Philippine Archipelago. The expedition was initiated after missionaries reported seeing giant Nepenthes on the mountain in 2000.
The formal description of N. attenboroughii was published in February 2009 in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society
The Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society is a scientific journal publishing original papers relating to the taxonomy of all plant groups and fungi, including anatomy, biosystematics, cytology, ecology, ethnobotany, electron microscopy, morphogenesis, palaeobotany, palynology and...
. The herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
specimen A. Robinson AR001 is the designated holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
, and is deposited at the herbarium of Palawan State University
Palawan State University
The Palawan State University is a government-funded university in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. -History:PSU was established on March 2, 1972, as a teacher-training institution known as the Palawan Teachers College by virtue of Republic Act 4303 with Dr. Walfrido R. Ponce de Leon as...
(PPC), Puerto Princesa City
Puerto Princesa City
The City of Puerto Princesa is a city located on the western provincial island of Palawan, one of 80 provinces which make up the Philippines...
.
Further accounts of this species appeared in McPherson's Pitcher Plants of the Old World
Pitcher Plants of the Old World
Pitcher Plants of the Old World is a two-volume monograph by Stewart McPherson on the pitcher plants of the genera Nepenthes and Cephalotus. It was published in May 2009 by Redfern Natural History Productions...
, published in May 2009, and in the December 2009 issue of the Carnivorous Plant Newsletter
Carnivorous Plant Newsletter
The Carnivorous Plant Newsletter is the official publication of the International Carnivorous Plant Society , the largest such organization in the world.-History and editorship:...
.
Description
Nepenthes attenboroughii is a terrestrial upright or scrambling shrub. The stem, which may be up to 3.5 cm thick, is circular in cross section and attains a height of up to 1.5 m.Leaves and pitchers
The leaves are coriaceous and sessile or sub-petiolate. The leaves of rosettesRosette (botany)
In botany, a rosette is a circular arrangement of leaves, with all the leaves at a single height.Though rosettes usually sit near the soil, their structure is an example of a modified stem.-Function:...
are up to 30 cm long and 10 cm wide, whereas those of the scrambling stem are up to 40 cm long and 15 cm wide. The leaves are oblong to elliptic, obtuse at the apex and shortly attenuate at the base, clasping the stem by approximately two-thirds of its circumference and becoming decurrent for 2–3 cm.
Nepenthes attenboroughii produces some of the largest pitchers in the genus, sometimes exceeding those of typical N. rajah
Nepenthes rajah
Nepenthes rajah is an insectivorous pitcher plant species of the Nepenthaceae family. It is endemic to Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount Tambuyukon in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Nepenthes rajah grows exclusively on serpentine substrates, particularly in areas of seeping ground water where the...
in size, but is not known to have exceeded the size and volume records set by that species. The largest recorded pitcher of N. attenboroughii measured more than 1.5 litres in volume, and traps exceeding 2 litres are likely to be produced on occasion. The lower pitchers are brittle and campanulate (bell-shaped), up to 30 cm tall and 16 cm wide and emerge from tendril
Tendril
In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape that is used by climbing plants for support, attachment and cellular invasion by parasitic plants, generally by twining around suitable hosts. They do not have a lamina or blade, but they can photosynthesize...
s that are 30–40 cm long and 4–9 mm in diameter. The tendrils are flattened towards the leaf, making them almost semi-circular in cross section.
The upper pitchers are similar to the lower pitchers, but generally infundibular, to 25 cm tall and 12 cm wide.
Inflorescence
Nepenthes attenboroughii has a racemoseRaceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
up to 80 cm long. The male flower spike bears approximately 100 pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
late flowers on a rachis
Rachis
Rachis is a biological term for a main axis or "shaft".-In zoology:In vertebrates a rachis can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the rachis usually form the supporting axis of the body and is then called the spine or vertebral column...
up to 45 cm long and is recorded to bifurcate on occasion. The flowers lack bracts and produce red tepals that are broadly ovate with an obtuse
Obtuse
Obtuse may refer to:* Obtuse angle, an angle of between 90 and 180 degrees,* Obtuse triangle, a triangle with an internal angle of between 90 and 180 degrees,* leaf shape,* Linguistic ambiguity, lacking sharpness or quickness of sensibility....
apex.
The female inflorescence is shorter, to 65 cm long, never bifurcates, and bears up to 70 densely arranged flowers on a compact rachis up to 20 cm long. The tepals are brown to purple, ovate, and have an acute
Acute
Acute may refer to:* Acute accent* Acute angle* Acute * Acute * Acute toxicity...
apex.
Distribution and habitat
This species is endemic to the Victoria Massif in PalawanPalawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
. There, it grows from 1450 m above sea level to the summit of Mount Victoria
Mount Victoria, Palawan
Mount Victoria , or Victoria Peak, is a mountain in central Palawan, Philippines, that lies within the administrative Municipality of Narra...
at 1726 m. Originally known only from Mount Victoria itself, it has since been found on a number of minor peaks and connecting ridges. The species is found among shrubs 0.8–1.8 m tall in relatively scattered populations of plants on rocky, ultramafic soil. It is not sympatric with other Nepenthes species and no natural hybrids have been recorded.
The summit flora of Mount Victoria includes Leptospermum
Leptospermum
Leptospermum is a genus of about 80-86 species of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the greatest diversity in the south of the continent; but one species extends to New Zealand, another to Malaysia, and L. recurvum is endemic to Malaysia.They...
sp., Medinilla
Medinilla
Medinilla is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa east through Madagascar and southern Asia to the western Pacific Ocean islands. The genus was named after J. de Medinilla, governor of the Mariana...
spp., Pleomele
Pleomele (genus)
Pleomele is a genus of flowering plants, sometimes placed in the genus Dracaena. In the APG III classification system, both genera are placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae...
sp., Vaccinium
Vaccinium
Vaccinium is a genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the plant Family Ericaceae. The fruit of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry or whortleberry, lingonberry or cowberry, and huckleberry...
sp., various grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
es, as well as the sundew
Sundew
Drosera, commonly known as the sundews, comprise one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous glands covering their leaf surface. The insects are used to supplement...
Drosera ultramafica
Drosera ultramafica
Drosera ultramafica is a species of sundew native to the highlands of Malesia. It is thought to be most closely related to Drosera spatulata, Drosera neocaledonica and Drosera oblanceolata...
, which grows at similar elevations to N. attenboroughii.
Carnivory
Nepenthes infauna
Nepenthes infauna are the organisms that inhabit the pitchers of Nepenthes plants. These include fly and midge larvae, spiders, mites, ants, and even a species of crab, Geosesarma malayanum. The most common and conspicuous predators found in pitchers are mosquito larvae, which consume large...
, particularly mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e, and the pitchers of this species may benefit from both the usual capture of prey as well as the detritus
Detritus
Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...
produced by organisms living within the pitcher fluid.
In the latter half of 2009, this taxon received a great deal of publicity in the national press of various countries as a sensational new plant that catches and kills rats. Whilst certainly large enough to trap rodents, no rodents of any kind have yet been observed within the pitchers of this species, as indicated in the type description and through subsequent clarification by the author, who suggests that should rodents be captured by the plant, it is likely to be through misadventure rather than by design; instead, large bugs and flying insects appear to be the usual prey.
Related species
Nepenthes attenboroughii is closely related to the PalawanPalawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
species, N. deaniana
Nepenthes deaniana
Nepenthes deaniana is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines, where it grows at an altitude of 1180–1296 m above sea level. The species is known only from the summit region of Thumb Peak, a relatively small, ultramafic mountain in Puerto Princesa Province, Palawan.Nepenthes...
, N. leonardoi
Nepenthes leonardoi
Nepenthes leonardoi is a tropical pitcher plant known from a single locality in central Palawan, the Philippines. It is closely allied to several other Palawan endemics, including N. deaniana, N. gantungensis, and N. mira. The traps of this species reach at least 24 cm in height...
, N. mantalingajanensis
Nepenthes mantalingajanensis
Nepenthes mantalingajanensis is a tropical pitcher plant known only from the summit region of Mount Mantalingajan, the highest point on the Philippine island of Palawan, after which it is named.-Botanical history:...
, N. mira
Nepenthes mira
Nepenthes mira is a highland pitcher plant endemic to Palawan in the Philippines. It grows at elevations of 1550–1605 m above sea level....
, and N. palawanensis
Nepenthes palawanensis
Nepenthes palawanensis is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sultan Peak on the island of Palawan in the Philippines, where it grows at elevations of 1100–1236 m above sea level. It was discovered in February 2010 by Jehson Cervancia and Stewart McPherson.The species appears to be most...
(which produces even larger pitchers), to N. peltata
Nepenthes peltata
Nepenthes peltata is a tropical pitcher plant known only from the upper slopes of Mount Hamiguitan on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is characterised by a peltate tendril attachment and conspicuous indumentum...
from Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
, and to N. rajah
Nepenthes rajah
Nepenthes rajah is an insectivorous pitcher plant species of the Nepenthaceae family. It is endemic to Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount Tambuyukon in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Nepenthes rajah grows exclusively on serpentine substrates, particularly in areas of seeping ground water where the...
from Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
.
The stated relationship of this taxon with species from Borneo and Mindanao agrees with observations made in the description of N. mira
Nepenthes mira
Nepenthes mira is a highland pitcher plant endemic to Palawan in the Philippines. It grows at elevations of 1550–1605 m above sea level....
, and is further supported in the type description of N. attenboroughii by previously overlooked paleogeographical evidence. Based on this evidence, the authors reason that these species, predominantly found growing on ultramafic soils on Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
and Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
, are likely to have arisen as a result of the radiative speciation of a common ancestor in Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
.
External links
- Photographs of N. attenboroughii at the Carnivorous Plant Photofinder