Nepenthes smilesii
Encyclopedia
Nepenthes smilesii is a tropical pitcher plant
native to northeastern Thailand
, southern Laos
, Cambodia
, and western Vietnam
. Nepenthes smilesii can tolerate an extended dry season
and is most common in open, sandy savannah
and grassland
.
The specific epithet smilesii refers to plant collector Frederick Henry Smiles, who made the first known collection of this species.
appears as Data Deficient
on the IUCN Red List
.
Nepenthes smilesii was referred to as N. anamensis throughout most of the 20th century. Further confusion resulted from the erroneous labelling of N. smilesii plants as N. thorelii
in the horticultural trade. In Pitcher Plants of the Old World
, Stewart McPherson
lists N. mirabilis f. smilesii and N. mirabilis var. smilesii as synonyms of N. smilesii, but Marcello Catalano
considers these to represent normal forms of N. mirabilis
.
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.
. It has been recorded from Cambodia
, northeastern Thailand
, southern Laos
, and western Vietnam
. The species occurs across a wide range of altitudes, being recorded from elevations of 16–1500 m above sea level, although it is more typically found at around 800 m.
Nepenthes smilesii is notable among the Indochinese Nepenthes for experiencing extreme lows of temperature.
Nepenthes smilesii has no known natural hybrids.
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. Nepenthes smilesii also differs in having shorter tendrils and a narrower peristome.
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...
native to northeastern Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, southern Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, and western Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. Nepenthes smilesii can tolerate an extended dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
and is most common in open, sandy savannah
Savannah
Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...
and 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...
.
The specific epithet smilesii refers to plant collector Frederick Henry Smiles, who made the first known collection of this species.
Botanical history
Nepenthes anamensis is a heterotypic synonym of N. smilesii. Its conservation statusConservation 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...
appears as Data Deficient
Data Deficient
Data Deficient is a category applied by the IUCN, other agencies, and individuals to a species when the available information is not sufficient for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made...
on the IUCN Red List
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...
.
Nepenthes smilesii was referred to as N. anamensis throughout most of the 20th century. Further confusion resulted from the erroneous labelling of N. smilesii plants as N. thorelii
Nepenthes thorelii
Nepenthes thorelii is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Indochina. Very little is known about N. thorelii and it is unlikely to have entered cultivation, although various other taxa are often mislabelled as this species in the plant trade...
in the horticultural trade. In 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...
, Stewart McPherson
Stewart 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....
lists N. mirabilis f. smilesii and N. mirabilis var. smilesii as synonyms of N. smilesii, but Marcello Catalano
Marcello Catalano
Marcello Catalano is an Italian naturalist and author specializing in carnivorous plants. As a result of this interest, which began in 1985, Catalano founded the Italian Carnivorous Plant Society and its quarterly magazine, AIPC News , at the end of the 1990s.From 2000 to 2004, he...
considers these to represent normal forms of N. mirabilis
Nepenthes mirabilis
Nepenthes mirabilis , or the Common Swamp Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical carnivorous plant species of the pitfall trap variety. It has by far the widest distribution of any Nepenthes species and is known from the following countries and regions: Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia,...
.
Description
Nepenthes smilesii is a climbing plant growing to a height of 5 m.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.
Ecology
Nepenthes smilesii has a widespread distribution throughout IndochinaIndochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
. It has been recorded from Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, northeastern Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, southern Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, and western Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. The species occurs across a wide range of altitudes, being recorded from elevations of 16–1500 m above sea level, although it is more typically found at around 800 m.
Nepenthes smilesii is notable among the Indochinese Nepenthes for experiencing extreme lows of temperature.
Nepenthes smilesii has no known natural hybrids.
Related species
Nepenthes smilesii appears most closely allied to N. kongkandanaNepenthes kongkandana
Nepenthes kongkandana is an undescribed tropical pitcher plant endemic to Songkhla Province in southern Thailand. This species is closely related to N. kerrii.-External links:*...
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. Nepenthes smilesii also differs in having shorter tendrils and a narrower peristome.