Nepenthes rajah Hook.F.

Rajah brooke's pitcher plant (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Caryophyllales > Nepenthaceae > Nepenthes

Characteristics

Terrestrial shrub up to 2 m tall, sometimes scrambling. Stems terete, 15-30 mm diam. Leaves coriaceous, petiolate; blade oblong, 20-50(-80) by 9-13(-15) cm, apex rounded, peltate: midrib detaching to form tendril up to 3.2 cm from the apex, base obtuse; petiole canaliculate, 3.5-14 cm long, 1-2 cm deep, base sheathing and clasping the stem for c. 3/4 its circumference, not decurrent or auriculate. Longitudinal nerves 3(-5) each side of the midrib in the outer half. Pennate nerves numerous, running obliquely to the margin, conspicuous. Lower pitchers subellipsoid, 20-35 by 11-18 cm, with two fringed wings, 4-9 mm wide, the fringed elements c. 4 mm long, c. 2 mm apart; mouth broadly elliptic, flat, oblique at 45° from the horizontal; peristome rounded or slightly flattened, 25-35 mm wide, slightly widest towards the lid, ribs 1.5-5 mm apart, with at least 10 striae in between, inner edge dentate, teeth 3-5 mm long, outer edge with 5 or 6 folds per side, each protruding up to 1-1.5 cm; lid larger than the mouth, vaulted, oblong to obovate, 15-20 by 10-13 cm, apex truncate to rounded, base truncate-cordate, lower surface lacking appendages but with a robust keel-like midrib in the basal half, nectar glands minute, crater-like c. 0.1 mm diam; spur stout, 10 mm long. Upper pitchers rarely produced, as the lower, but infundibulate, not ellipsoid, lacking fringed elements to the reduced, ridge-like wings. Male inflorescence 60-85 cm long, peduncle 28-34 cm long, 0.6-0.7 cm diam.; partial peduncles c. 100, 9-15 mm long, 2-flowered; bracts absent; pedicels 6-9 mm long; tepals elliptic, 4-5 by 2.5 mm; androphore 2-3 mm long; anther head 1 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide. Fruits with valves 20 mm long. Seeds unknown. Indumentum of brown spreading hairs on stem when young, absent from leaves apart from the brown woolly margin; outer lid and pitcher surface with appressed, brown simple hairs c. 0.5 mm long, glabrescent. Inflorescence, particularly the partial peduncles and pedicels, lower tepal surface and androphore, densely covered in the same hair type; infructescence with hairs persisting on fruit valves. Colour of pitchers purplish red, peristome dark purple, inner surface of pitcher and lower surface of lid green or yellow. Flowers dull greenish white, flushed maroon outside.
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Mature height (meter) 2.0
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Environment

Open sites in mossy forest, on ridges or landslips, restricted to ultramafic soils; 1500-2650 m
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Cultivation

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Images

Nepenthes rajah unspecified picture

Distribution

Nepenthes rajah world distribution map, present in Malaysia

Conservation status

Nepenthes rajah threat status: Endangered

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:603791-1
WFO ID wfo-0000381453
COL ID 46XCK
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Nepenthes rajah