NEPENTHES 



NEPENTHES 



2125 



orohiils, whilo tlio cliiiiutic conditions of America, when 

 nioilitii-'d by moist stovohonso treatment, seem emi- 

 nently to favor \-igorous growth. They have therefore 

 become fannliar objects in many American greenhouse 

 collodions daring the past decade. 



.\11 of thes])ecies now in cultivation hybridize readily 

 w ith each other, and produce abundant as well ;is good 

 seeds. These should be sown on the surface of a seod- 

 l)an that is filled with a finely chopped mixture of 

 sphagnum, pot crocks and charcoal. A bell-jar should 

 cover the pan, and it should then be set in a plate of 

 water to ensure a steamy atmosphere. Germination 

 occurs in two to four weeks. The seedlings should be 

 l)otted off into thumbs when about a month old, and 

 then changed every two months into larger pots. Well- 

 grown year-old plants begin to show adult characters. 



Xepenthes culture. (G. W. Oliver.) 



Nepenthes are increased by cuttings and by seeds. 

 The ripened shoots, with four or five leaves attached, 

 make the best cuttings. They may be rooted from 

 December till the end of January, but under proper 

 conditions the operation may be performed at any time 

 during the year. Some of the free-rooting kinds, such 

 as A'. Dominii, N. gracilis, N. Phyllamphora and A^. 

 Mastersiana, may be rooted in sand under a glass with 

 a little moss tied around the base of each cutting. 

 Under this treatment the temperature of the sand should 

 be about 80° F. When the roots show through the moss 

 they should be put in small pots and kept close for a 

 couple of weeks. The most satisfactory method of 

 propagation is to put the ba.se of each cutting through 

 the hole of an inverted 2-inch rose pot, plunging the pot 

 in sphagnum moss in a temjjerature from 80° to 90°. 

 1-'. (See Fig. 2460.) During the operation of rooting 

 they must be kept in a close propagating-frame and 

 frequently syringed. (See Fig. 2461.) When the roots are 

 about 5-i inch long the cuttings should be potted, using 

 a mixture of finely chopjjed fibrous peat, moss and sand, 

 with a little finely broken charcoal added. They should 

 be replaced in the moss and kept close until the pots 

 are fairly well filled with roots and then gradually 

 hardened off. .\11 of the kinds do best suspended from 

 the roof of a hothouse, the temperature of which .should 

 not fall below 6.5° F. in winter. The plants may be 

 grown either in orchid-pots or -baskets. In potting or 

 basketing plants from 4-inch pots, large pieces of pot- 

 sherd and charcoal should be firmly placed here and 

 there among the potting material, which should con- 

 sist of rough fibrous peat, moss and sand. The plants 

 should not be allowed to grow as vines unless they are 

 intended to produce seed. When large-sized pitchers 

 are wanted, the ends of the shoots should be nipped 

 out after .several leaves have been made and the pitchers 

 are in the process of development; this throws strength 

 into the last-formed leaves and produces very large 

 liitchers. When the plants are in active growth they 

 should be well drenched with water at least once each 

 day and syringed frequently, but care should be taken 

 not to overwater newly potted specimens. They should 

 at all times be shaded from bright sunshine, and when a 

 house is devoted to them, or partly occupied with plants 

 requiring similar treatment, it should be shaded with 

 cloth fixed to rollers. Well-pitchered jilants may be 

 taken from the growing hovise and exhibited in good 

 presentation for a long time in a house under condi- 

 tions which would be unfavorable for their growth. All 

 of the hybrid forms are of easy culture. A'. Atastersiana, 

 A'. Domiidi, N. Oulramiuna and N. Ilenri/ana produce 

 pitchers very freely. The species, as a rule, are not 

 quite so free, but some of them thrive ccpially as well 

 as the garden forms. A'. Rajah, N. Norlhiana, N. 

 sanguinea, N. alho-marginala and A', hicalcarata are 

 all more or less difficult to manage, as the conditions 

 under which they grow in their native haunts are 

 sometimes not easily imitated. A', ampullaria, N. 



Rafflcsiana, N. FhyUaiitphora, N. dislillaloria and N. 

 Ktnmdijana are usually seen well furnished with good 

 pitchers. 



INDEX. 



nlata, 40. excelsior, 23. nigro-purpurea, 30. 



ulho-cincia, 2. /atoi.r, 47. nobilis. 42. 



albo-iiiiirKiimta, 2. fimhrinla, 33. Northiana, 4. 



amabilis, 23. ghltrfsrcns, 16. O' Brieniatia, 33. 



Amesiaiia, 23. gracilis. 13. Outraniiana, 26. 



ampullaria. 1. hirsuta, 16. paradisa^, 20. 



atrosaiiKuinca, 21. Hookeriana, 24. Phyllamphora, 33. 



Balfouriana, 49. Hookeri. 24. RafBcsiana, 30. 



hicalcarata, 38. hybrida, 17. Rajah, 41. 



Burkei, 11. indica, 16. Rowana-, 36. 



celebica, 47. intermedia, 29. rubra, 2, 16. 



Chelsonii, 28. Kennedyana. 35. Sanderiana.JiO. 



cincta, 3. khasiana, 14. sanguinea, 6. 



coccinea, 34. Lawrenciana, 25. Sedenii. 15. 



Chirtisii, 47. Loddigesii, 24. speciosa, 16. 



cvlindrica, 18. Lowii, 50. spuria, 4. 



Uicksoniana, 31. Macfarlanei, 51. stenophylla, 46. 



distillatoria, 16. macrostachya, 33. Tiveyi, 48. 



Dominii, 22. maculala, 17. truncata, 45. 



Dormanniana, 19. madagascariensis, 37. Vcitchii, 39. 



Dyak, 38. Mastersiana, 7. ventricosa, 10. 



Dyeriana, 43. maxima. 47. villosa, 8. 



edinensis, 32. Merrilliana, 12. Williamsii, 27. 



Edwardsiana, 9. mixta, 5. Wittei, 44. 



excellens, 11, 28. Morganiana, 25. zeylanica, 16. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



A. Pitcher-lid small, refiexed 1. ampullaria 



KA.. Pitcher-lid well developed, infleied 

 over orifice. 

 B. Lid devoid of keel, spur, or bristles 

 within, 

 c. Longitudinal veins of lamina 

 2-.^; Ivs. sessile. 

 D. Collar below peristome white- 



tomentose 2. albomargi- 



DD. Collar below peristome brown- [nata 



ish tomentose. 

 E. Lvs. decurrent. 



F. Peristome broadly ex- 

 panded, purplish green 



or purple striped 3. cincta 



FF. Peristome expanded, green 



and red-striped 4. Northiana 



FFF. Peristome expanded, pur- 

 ple 5. mixta 



EE. Lvs. non-decurrent. 



F. Peristome red 6. sanguinea 



FF. Peristome crimson to pur- 

 ple 7. Mastersiana 



cc. Longitudinal veins of lamina 

 2-4-' lvs. stalked. 

 D. Peristome deeply ridged; 



pitchers pyriform 8. villosa 



DD. Peristome deeply ridded; 



pitchers elongate-tubular. ... 9. Edwardsiana 

 ccc. Longitudinal veins of lamina 

 6-6: lvs. sessile, non-decurrent. 

 D. Pitchers strongly constricted in 



middle, mouth transverse. . . . 10. ventricosa 

 DD. Pitchers strongly constricted in 



middle, mouth oblique 11. Burkei 



DDD. Pitchers large, oval 12. Merrilliana 



cccc. Longitudinal veins of lamina 

 6-6: lvs. se.%'iile, decurrent. 

 D. St. slender trigonous: • peri' 



stome narrow-oblique. . . .... 1.3. gracilis 



DD. St. stout cylindric: peristome 



roundid, uhlu/ue 14. khasiana 



DDD. St. stout cylindric: peristome 



elevated into short neck 15. Sedenii 



ccccc. Longitudinal veins of lamina 

 6-6: lvs. petiolate. 

 D. Pitchers green, reddish or 

 slightly purple-spotted. 

 E. Lvs. herbaceous: peri.<itome 



green, cylindric 16. distillatoria 



EE. Lvs. coriaceous: peristome 



green, cylindric 17. hybrida 



EEE. Lvs. coriaceous: peristome 



expnndid 18. cylindrica 



DD. Pitchers richly green and pur- 

 ple-blotcheil ; peristome pale 

 green, oblique. 



