NEPENTHES 



The two s"l.i,".'',,f"|,i''l'' ' :' ' " '" 'im: li'i 

 constaiith" r-il,t,rii ).\- m^. , i . ,, ■ tim 



call the pit. -her i.l.-uit. " m ■ i . . . i i, _• ,h 

 bidge was ]>res<-?iti-<l tiy i'm i i 

 daintily cookeil in i-l,.:,ii |, i. i , . \ // 



The pitrhers ..f N.-|.. hih. - ... i .1 M .1 11 

 the leaves. Tli.-y iirv uMinii , ii,, - .. -n., i.. .i . - 

 mug-shaped, rarely cyliiniri' .il. , 1 ..t . .\,tiii|.]t 

 3 shapes, see Figs. 1470-72.) A pitcher always 



a raoxtth surrounded by a rim a little spur at the back 

 (which is usuallj just where the midrib of the back of 

 the pitcher 101ns the lid ) ind two wings running up and 

 down the front of fhf ] it h r Thi broader these wings 

 and the longer til 11 tin tl lundsomer the pitcher, 



as a rule. The run r ui 1 tl tji uth sometimes bears 

 numerous downu 11 1 | 11 tii _ 1 th which have been 

 supposed to turn 1 i k it t i tu.,ee 



With the except m of ab ut halt d ?( 11 \ iry .listinct 

 types which will be menti ned latei \ | ntljis v|,H,-ies 

 are too much alike bo far as re il til inctnns go, 

 practically all the hybrid iie i mti 1 hi tts ^u many 

 peas, at least so far as i it 1 1 iiied. A few 



exceptional kinds can b t 1 -ss or broad 



bases of their leaves or I 1 1 the flowers 



furni.sh little help in di tit 1 1 s and, as a 



rule, the cultivator want 1 tt 1 t t t rl .wers. The 

 pitchers will hold water 1 tit it 1 I til tfiil if the pres- 

 ent classification of them wtll Th lirti iilties of the 

 case will be apparent from th f 11 wmg t fount of how 

 the pitchers change in form iiid 1 r i a plant de- 

 velops. 



Row the Pitchers Chnnqe.— When a Nepenthes is 

 grown from seed, the very first thing that develops after 



NEPENTHES 



little pitcher. "These young pitch- 

 Harry James Veitch, "are at first 

 ir bliuli' ami form part of it ; then 

 ■p;tr;it.-.i from it by a prolongation of 

 !.■ |.io(lii.-i-il simultaneously with the 

 , MS it. tlo- adult plant. • • * A.s 



Instead of 

 with the bh 

 pen-.-!.til,iv 



shape and diliieiisioiis still more remarkable than what 

 takes place during the progress of development from the 

 infantine to what is regarded as the perfect form of the 

 pitcher. » * • [See Pig. 1470.] As leaf after leaf is 

 produced from the ascending stem, the pitehers first 

 become longer and narrower; then follows a t.'t;i'hial 

 diminution of the parts while the pitrh. is at. I.eini; 

 modified from the flask shape to the c) Inelri.- shapi-; 

 the ventral wings con.stantly diminisli iu breadth and 

 the ciliate fringe disappears until the place of the wings 

 is denoted only by two narrow keels, and instances 

 have been oh.served in which even these are oblite- 

 rated. The pitchers not only undergo change in size, 

 form and color, but they also change their position in 

 respect to the prolonged midrib. By the time the seventh 

 or eighth pitcher has been produced above that which 

 we have already referred to as the perfect pitcher, the 

 prolonged midrib has made half a revolution on its own 

 axis, so that the pitcher has now its dorsal side toward 

 it. As the pitchers diminish in size with the ascent of 

 the stem, so when a certain stage of growth is reached, 

 and as the plants arrive at the time of flowering, they 

 cease to be produced altogether, but the stem continues 

 to grow and produces leaves with prolonged midribs, 

 alTording a support to the plant and its inflorescence 

 while maturing its seed. Sir Hugh Low observed of 

 iV. ampullaria, which he saw in Sarawak, that the flrst 

 formed leaves have no blades but only pitchers, with 

 which the ground is frequently covered as with a 

 carpet." 



Other habits of ijrnirll, t,re 10. less interesting. Some 

 of the Nepenthes keep t.. th, -i-ntel, l.tit most of them 

 climb tall trees. The sp.eies at., wuli ve,\ few excep- 

 tions, all more or less ipipln tttl, tm.l .V. I , d.-liii is said 

 to be wholly so. As they eliinb, the tips ot the leaves 

 take a turn or two around a nearby twig. Like all pitcher 

 plants. Nepenthes are poorly supplied with roots, and 

 as the plants grow above they are said to die away below. 

 Thus their lowest point may be 20 feet above ground. 

 However, they can send out new roots all along the stem 

 and penetrate the thick covering of moss and lichen 

 often found on the trunks of trees growing in hot, 

 niitist regions. As to size of pitchers the species vary 

 gretiiS Tie k I lei- III -1 Lie iwti to euliivatlon, &s N.grac- 

 ii'-^ " ' ill! !■: " i,iiiii,ln:>-ii, have pitchers 



alien- .,'1,1.. otliers, asiV. iVoWJi- 



iiiiii. I. / ', /,! /..I, /■/, ,1/, .jm^f and sanguinea, 



may I.e (,-lJ m. Iouk or more. The great Rajah, which 

 is a dwarf plant about 4 ft. high, with its pitchers rest- 

 ing on the ground in a circle, has been known to have 

 pitchers holding 2 quarts, while in another was found 

 a drowned rat. The fls. of a Nepenthes are produced in 

 a pseudo-terminal fashion on old plants. The male and 

 female fls. are borne on separate plants. They are green 

 or purple, small, a hundred or so in a raceme or panicle, 

 with 4 perianth segments. Ordinarily Nepenthes are 

 not permitted to flower, the stems being stopped, partly 

 for the sake of taking cuttings, but chiefly because the 

 most and best pitchers are produced from the new 



growth of 



plants rather than from tall and 



. or thereabouts, known to science,' 

 e confined to Borneo. 'A more are 

 adjacent islands, l.S more are extra- 

 V Malavsian, the remaining 6 are 

 ere is one in North Australia, one 

 ne in Cevlon, one in the Sevchelles, 

 and one' in northeast India." The 



