Nepenthes klossii
Encyclopedia
Nepenthes klossii is a tropical pitcher plant
endemic to New Guinea
.
during the Wollaston Expedition of 1912 to 1913. The type specimen of the species, Kloss s.n., was collected by Cecil Boden Kloss
near an expedition campsite (camp VIb) on January 26, 1913, at an elevation of between 930 and 1170 m above sea level. It is deposited at the herbarium
of the Singapore Botanic Gardens
. The specimen is of unknown sex
as it lacks floral material.
In 1916, N. klossii was formally described
by Henry Nicholas Ridley
in a report on the Wollaston Expedition published in The Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. The specific epithet klossii honours Cecil Boden Kloss, who first collected it three years earlier.
A revised description and illustration of N. klossii were published in 1928 in B. H. Danser
's seminal monograph "The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies
". Based on an examination of the N. klossii type specimen, Danser pointed out that Ridley had described the lower surface of the leaf as the upper surface and vice versa. The illustration from Danser's monograph does not accurately show the hooded shape of the pitcher or the lateral insertion of the mouth; this would only be demonstrated in Matthew Jebb
's 1991 monograph, "An account of Nepenthes in New Guinea
".
With regards to the intrageneric relationships of N. klossii, Danser wrote: "This insufficiently described species seems to be closely related to N. stenophylla, but I dare not unite these two." However, Danser's description of N. stenophylla
was based on the type specimen of N. fallax, a species considered by some to be distinct from the former. Danser placed N. klossii in the Regiae clade
together with 14 other species. He wrote: "Very closely related, but certainly distinct species are in the first place N. Veitchii
, N. stenophylla
, N. Klossii and N. fusca
."
. The stem may climb to a height of several metres.
The leaves of the climbing stem are coriaceous and petiolate. The lamina or leaf blade is oblong-lanceolate in shape and up to 25 cm long by 9 cm wide. It has an obtuse apex and is abruptly contracted towards the petiole
, which is up to 6 cm long and bears a pair of wings (≤5 mm wide). Around three longitudinal veins are present on either side of the midrib. They originate from the wings of the petiole and run roughly parallel to the midrib in the outer third to fourth of the lamina. Pinnate veins are indistinct and reticulate.
Tendril
s are usually 1 to 1.5 times as long as the lamina and range in diameter from 2 mm near the lamina to 5 mm near the base of the pitcher. They often have a curl in the middle.
Rosette and lower pitchers have two wings (≤9 mm wide) running down the ventral surface of the pitcher cup. Fringe elements are up to 7 mm long.
Upper pitchers abruptly arise from the ends of the tendrils, forming a 45 mm wide curve. They are narrowly infundibular in shape, sometimes becoming tubulose towards the mouth. Aerial pitchers are up to 26 cm high by 7 cm wide. The ventral wings are usually reduced to a pair of prominent ribs in aerial pitchers. The pitcher mouth (≤4 cm wide) is oblique at the front and elevated at the rear, although it does not form a neck. The peristome
is flattened and ranges in width from 3 mm at the front to 14 mm near the lid. It bears a series of ribs up to 1 mm high and spaced up to 1.5 mm apart, while its inner margin is almost entire. The gland
ular region is composed of tiny overarched glands and covers the lower half of the pitcher's inner surface. The lid or operculum
is suborbicular, slightly cordate at the base, and about 5 cm long by 5 cm wide. An obtuse, laterally-flattened appendage (≤8 mm long) is present in the basal part of the midrib on the lid's lower surface. Both the appendage and the lower surface of the lid are wholly glandular, bearing numerous deepened and rimmed glands of varying sizes. An unbranched, attenuate spur
is inserted on the highest part of the pitcher's dome, around 20 mm from the base of the lid.
Nepenthes klossii has a racemose
inflorescence
. The peduncle
is around 18 cm long, while the rachis
reaches 14 cm in length. Pedicels
are one- to three-flowered and up to 10 mm long. Tepal
s are oblong, obtuse, and around 3 mm long by 1 mm wide. Fruit
s are approximately 15 mm long, being distinctly attenuate towards the base and indistinctly attenuate towards the apex.
A dense, golden indumentum
is present on the underside of the lamina, composed of short spreading stellate hairs, longer branched hairs, and even longer unbranched hairs (≤7 mm long). The upper surface of the lamina is glabrous. The pitchers and tendrils have a similar covering of hairs to the underside of the lamina, although it is less dense. The spur has a very dense indumentum of short hairs. Spreading hairs cover the fruits and the outer surface of the tepals.
Pitchers are red speckled with a purple lid. Herbarium specimens are yellowish in colour, with the inner surface of the pitcher being bluish and pruinose above the glandular region.
n province
of Papua
in New Guinea
. It has been recorded from the regencies of Merauke
and Paniai, as well as the lower slopes of Puncak Jaya
. The species has a wide altitudinal distribution, ranging from 1000 to 2000 m above sea level.
The typical habitat of N. klossii consists of high altitude swampy forest, although it may also occur in grassland
. At one location, N. klossii is sympatric with a miniature form of N. maxima
at 1700 m and putative hybrids with this species have been recorded there. This population is greatly threatened as the habitat is "scheduled to be cleared for development".
Nepenthes klossii is extremely rare in the wild and its conservation status
is listed as Vulnerable
on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
based on an assessment carried out in 2000. Stewart McPherson states that it is very difficult to assess the conservation status of this species as it is so poorly known. The only easily accessible population of N. klossii is threatened by a road planned to run through its habitat, the construction of which had already begun as of March 2009. Other populations of this species are far less accessible and some have not been observed in decades.
of Sumatra
. When viewed from the front, the peristome and lid of these species appear dark, in contrast to the inner surface of the pitcher, which is brightly lit by light passing through the top of the pitcher dome.
Although there has been no comprehensive study of the trapping mechanism of N. klossii, it has been suggested that in the upper pitchers of N. aristolochioides this adaptation serves to attract flying insects in a similar manner to the North America
n pitcher plants Darlingtonia californica
, Sarracenia minor
, and Sarracenia psittacina
. A similar trapping mechanism has also been proposed for N. jacquelineae
, another Sumatran endemic. Unable to find the exit, prey are often disorientated inside the pitchers of N. aristolochioides, eventually falling into the pitcher fluid and drowning. Most of the prey caught by N. aristolochioides and N. klossii consists of small flying insects, which are attracted to bright light sources.
in some respects, although the pitchers of the former are much larger. However, the two species are geographically isolated from each other and are not thought to be closely related. The unique adaptations of these taxa are thought to represent an example of convergent evolution
, whereby two organisms that are not closely related independently acquire similar characteristics while evolving in separate, but comparable, ecosystem
s.
Nepenthes klossii can be distinguished from N. aristolochioides on the basis of its much larger, petiolate laminae.
Nepenthes eustachya
from Sumatra
exhibits considerable variability and occasionally produces hooded upper pitchers that superficially resemble those of N. klossii. However, these species are otherwise easy to distinguish.
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...
endemic to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
.
Botanical history
Nepenthes klossii was discovered in southwestern New GuineaNew Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
during the Wollaston Expedition of 1912 to 1913. The type specimen of the species, Kloss s.n., was collected by Cecil Boden Kloss
Cecil Boden Kloss
Cecil Boden Kloss was an English zoologist. He was an expert on the mammals and birds of Southeast Asia.In the early 1900s Kloss accompanied the American naturalist William Louis Abbott in exploring the Andaman and Nicobar islands. From 1908 he worked under Herbert Christopher Robinson at the...
near an expedition campsite (camp VIb) on January 26, 1913, at an elevation of between 930 and 1170 m above sea level. It is deposited at 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...
of the Singapore Botanic Gardens
Singapore Botanic Gardens
The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 74-hectare botanical garden in Singapore. It is half the size of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew or around one-fifth the size of Central Park in New York. It is the only botanic garden in the world that opens from 5 a.m...
. The specimen is of unknown sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
as it lacks floral material.
In 1916, N. klossii was formally described
Species description
A species description or type description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species which have been described previously, or are...
by Henry Nicholas Ridley
Henry Nicholas Ridley
Henry Nicholas Ridley CMG , MA , FRS, FLS, F.R.H.S. was an English botanist and geologist.Born at West Harling Hall, Norfolk, England...
in a report on the Wollaston Expedition published in The Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. The specific epithet klossii honours Cecil Boden Kloss, who first collected it three years earlier.
A revised description and illustration of N. klossii were published in 1928 in B. H. Danser
B. H. Danser
Benedictus Hubertus Danser , often abbreviated B. H. Danser, was a Dutch taxonomist and botanist...
's seminal monograph "The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies
The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies
"The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies" is a seminal monograph by B. H. Danser on the tropical pitcher plants of the Dutch East Indies, North Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, and eastern New Guinea...
". Based on an examination of the N. klossii type specimen, Danser pointed out that Ridley had described the lower surface of the leaf as the upper surface and vice versa. The illustration from Danser's monograph does not accurately show the hooded shape of the pitcher or the lateral insertion of the mouth; this would only be demonstrated in Matthew Jebb
Matthew Jebb
Dr. Matthew H. P. Jebb is an Irish taxonomist and botanist specialising in the ant plant genera Squamellaria, Myrmecodia, Hydnophytum, Myrmephytum and Anthorrhiza, as well as the carnivorous plant genus Nepenthes....
's 1991 monograph, "An account of Nepenthes in New Guinea
An account of Nepenthes in New Guinea
"An account of Nepenthes in New Guinea" is a monograph by Matthew Jebb on the tropical pitcher plants of New Guinea. It was published in the March 1991 issue of Science in New Guinea, a journal of the University of Papua New Guinea. The monograph was the result of work carried out by Jebb during an...
".
With regards to the intrageneric relationships of N. klossii, Danser wrote: "This insufficiently described species seems to be closely related to N. stenophylla, but I dare not unite these two." However, Danser's description of N. stenophylla
Nepenthes stenophylla
Nepenthes stenophylla , or the Narrow-Leaved Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. The species produces attractive funnel-shaped pitchers up to 25 cm high...
was based on the type specimen of N. fallax, a species considered by some to be distinct from the former. Danser placed N. klossii in the Regiae clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
together with 14 other species. He wrote: "Very closely related, but certainly distinct species are in the first place N. Veitchii
Nepenthes veitchii
Nepenthes veitchii |James Veitch]], nurseryman of the Veitch Nurseries), or Veitch's Pitcher-Plant, is a Nepenthes species from the island of Borneo. The plant is widespread in north-western Borneo and can also be found in parts of Kalimantan. N...
, N. stenophylla
Nepenthes stenophylla
Nepenthes stenophylla , or the Narrow-Leaved Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. The species produces attractive funnel-shaped pitchers up to 25 cm high...
, N. Klossii and N. fusca
Nepenthes fusca
Nepenthes fusca , or the Dusky Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It is found throughout a wide altitudinal range and is almost always epiphytic in nature, primarily growing in mossy forest....
."
Description
Nepenthes klossii, like virtually all species in the genus, is a scrambling vineVine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
. The stem may climb to a height of several metres.
The leaves of the climbing stem are coriaceous and petiolate. The lamina or leaf blade is oblong-lanceolate in shape and up to 25 cm long by 9 cm wide. It has an obtuse apex and is abruptly contracted towards the petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
, which is up to 6 cm long and bears a pair of wings (≤5 mm wide). Around three longitudinal veins are present on either side of the midrib. They originate from the wings of the petiole and run roughly parallel to the midrib in the outer third to fourth of the lamina. Pinnate veins are indistinct and reticulate.
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 are usually 1 to 1.5 times as long as the lamina and range in diameter from 2 mm near the lamina to 5 mm near the base of the pitcher. They often have a curl in the middle.
Rosette and lower pitchers have two wings (≤9 mm wide) running down the ventral surface of the pitcher cup. Fringe elements are up to 7 mm long.
Upper pitchers abruptly arise from the ends of the tendrils, forming a 45 mm wide curve. They are narrowly infundibular in shape, sometimes becoming tubulose towards the mouth. Aerial pitchers are up to 26 cm high by 7 cm wide. The ventral wings are usually reduced to a pair of prominent ribs in aerial pitchers. The pitcher mouth (≤4 cm wide) is oblique at the front and elevated at the rear, although it does not form a neck. The peristome
Peristome
The word peristome is derived from the Greek peri, meaning 'around' or 'about', and stoma, 'mouth'. It is a term used to describe various anatomical features that surround an opening to an organ or structure. The term is used in plants and invertebrate animals, such as in describing the shells of...
is flattened and ranges in width from 3 mm at the front to 14 mm near the lid. It bears a series of ribs up to 1 mm high and spaced up to 1.5 mm apart, while its inner margin is almost entire. The gland
Gland
A gland is an organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release of substances such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface .- Types :...
ular region is composed of tiny overarched glands and covers the lower half of the pitcher's inner surface. The lid or operculum
Operculum (botany)
An operculum, in botany, is a term generally used to describe a structure within a plant, moss, or fungus acting as a cap, flap, or lid. In plants, it may also be called a bud cap.Examples of structures identified as opercula include:...
is suborbicular, slightly cordate at the base, and about 5 cm long by 5 cm wide. An obtuse, laterally-flattened appendage (≤8 mm long) is present in the basal part of the midrib on the lid's lower surface. Both the appendage and the lower surface of the lid are wholly glandular, bearing numerous deepened and rimmed glands of varying sizes. An unbranched, attenuate spur
Spur (biology)
A spur in botany is a spike, usually part of a flower.In certain plants, part of a sepal or petal develops into an elongated hollow spike extending behind the flower, containing nectar which is sucked by long-tongued animals . Plants with such structures include Delphinium, Aquilegia, Piperia, and...
is inserted on the highest part of the pitcher's dome, around 20 mm from the base of the lid.
Nepenthes klossii has a racemose
Raceme
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...
. The peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
is around 18 cm long, while the 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...
reaches 14 cm in length. Pedicels
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....
are one- to three-flowered and up to 10 mm long. Tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s are oblong, obtuse, and around 3 mm long by 1 mm wide. Fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s are approximately 15 mm long, being distinctly attenuate towards the base and indistinctly attenuate towards the apex.
A dense, golden indumentum
Indumentum
The indumentum is a covering of fine hairs or bristles on a plant or insect.In plants, the indumentum types are:*pubescent*hirsute*pilose*villous*tomentose*stellate*scabrous*scurfy...
is present on the underside of the lamina, composed of short spreading stellate hairs, longer branched hairs, and even longer unbranched hairs (≤7 mm long). The upper surface of the lamina is glabrous. The pitchers and tendrils have a similar covering of hairs to the underside of the lamina, although it is less dense. The spur has a very dense indumentum of short hairs. Spreading hairs cover the fruits and the outer surface of the tepals.
Pitchers are red speckled with a purple lid. Herbarium specimens are yellowish in colour, with the inner surface of the pitcher being bluish and pruinose above the glandular region.
Ecology
Nepenthes klossii is endemic to the IndonesiaIndonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n province
Provinces of Indonesia
The province is the highest tier of local government subnational entity in Indonesia. Each province has its own local government, headed by a governor, and has its own legislative body...
of Papua
Papua (Indonesian province)
Papua comprises most of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands. Its capital is Jayapura. It's the largest and easternmost province of Indonesia. The province originally covered the entire western half of New Guinea...
in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. It has been recorded from the regencies of Merauke
Merauke Regency
Merauke is a regency in Papua Province, Indonesia.It includes the following districts:* Distrik Ulilin* Eligobel* Jagebob* Kimaam* Kurik* Merauke* Muting* Okaba* Semangga* Sota* Tanah Miring...
and Paniai, as well as the lower slopes of Puncak Jaya
Puncak Jaya
Puncak Jaya or Carstensz Pyramid is the highest summit of Mount Carstensz in the Sudirman Range of the western central highlands of Papua province, Indonesia . Other summits are East Carstensz Peak and Ngga Pulu...
. The species has a wide altitudinal distribution, ranging from 1000 to 2000 m above sea level.
The typical habitat of N. klossii consists of high altitude swampy forest, although it may also occur in grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
. At one location, N. klossii is sympatric with a miniature form of N. maxima
Nepenthes maxima
Nepenthes maxima , the Great Pitcher-Plant, is a carnivorous pitcher plant species of the genus Nepenthes. It has a relatively wide distribution covering Sulawesi, New Guinea, and the Maluku Islands. It is closely related to N. eymae....
at 1700 m and putative hybrids with this species have been recorded there. This population is greatly threatened as the habitat is "scheduled to be cleared for development".
Nepenthes klossii is extremely rare in the wild and its conservation status
Conservation status
The conservation status of a group of organisms indicates whether the group is still extant and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future...
is listed as Vulnerable
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
based on an assessment carried out in 2000. Stewart McPherson states that it is very difficult to assess the conservation status of this species as it is so poorly known. The only easily accessible population of N. klossii is threatened by a road planned to run through its habitat, the construction of which had already begun as of March 2009. Other populations of this species are far less accessible and some have not been observed in decades.
Carnivory
Nepenthes klossii is one of only two species in the genus to employ domed pitchers with white patches that allow sunlight to illuminate their interiors. The only other species with similar pitcher morphology is N. aristolochioidesNepenthes aristolochioides
Nepenthes aristolochioides is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra, where it grows at elevations of 1800–2500 m above sea level. It has an extremely unusual pitcher morphology, having an almost vertical opening to its traps....
of Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
. When viewed from the front, the peristome and lid of these species appear dark, in contrast to the inner surface of the pitcher, which is brightly lit by light passing through the top of the pitcher dome.
Although there has been no comprehensive study of the trapping mechanism of N. klossii, it has been suggested that in the upper pitchers of N. aristolochioides this adaptation serves to attract flying insects in a similar manner to the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n pitcher plants Darlingtonia californica
Darlingtonia californica
Darlingtonia californica , also called the California Pitcher plant, Cobra Lily, or Cobra Plant, is a carnivorous plant, the sole member of the genus Darlingtonia in the family Sarraceniaceae. It is native to Northern California and Oregon, growing in bogs and seeps with cold running water...
, Sarracenia minor
Sarracenia minor
Sarracenia minor, also known as the Hooded pitcher plant, is a perennial, terrestrial, rhizomatous, herbaceous, carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia. Like all the Sarracenia, it is native to the New World.-Etymology:...
, and Sarracenia psittacina
Sarracenia psittacina
Sarracenia psittacina, also known as the parrot pitcher plant, is a carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia. Like all the Sarracenia, it is native to North America, in the Southeastern United States....
. A similar trapping mechanism has also been proposed for N. jacquelineae
Nepenthes jacquelineae
Nepenthes jacquelineae is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra. Due to its unique pitcher morphology, it is considered to be one of the most spectacular Nepenthes species native to the island.-Botanical history:...
, another Sumatran endemic. Unable to find the exit, prey are often disorientated inside the pitchers of N. aristolochioides, eventually falling into the pitcher fluid and drowning. Most of the prey caught by N. aristolochioides and N. klossii consists of small flying insects, which are attracted to bright light sources.
Related species
In terms of pitcher morphology, N. klossii resembles N. aristolochioidesNepenthes aristolochioides
Nepenthes aristolochioides is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra, where it grows at elevations of 1800–2500 m above sea level. It has an extremely unusual pitcher morphology, having an almost vertical opening to its traps....
in some respects, although the pitchers of the former are much larger. However, the two species are geographically isolated from each other and are not thought to be closely related. The unique adaptations of these taxa are thought to represent an example of convergent evolution
Convergent evolution
Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action. Although their last common ancestor did not have wings, both birds and bats do, and are capable of powered flight. The wings are...
, whereby two organisms that are not closely related independently acquire similar characteristics while evolving in separate, but comparable, ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s.
Nepenthes klossii can be distinguished from N. aristolochioides on the basis of its much larger, petiolate laminae.
Nepenthes eustachya
Nepenthes eustachya
Nepenthes eustachya is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra, where it grows from sea level to an elevation of 1600 m. The specific epithet eustachya, formed from the Greek words eu and stachys , refers to the racemose structure of the inflorescence.-Botanical history:Nepenthes eustachya...
from Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
exhibits considerable variability and occasionally produces hooded upper pitchers that superficially resemble those of N. klossii. However, these species are otherwise easy to distinguish.