Nepenthes campanulata
Encyclopedia
Nepenthes campanulata the Bell-Shaped Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant
endemic to Borneo
.
Forest fires destroyed the only known population of N. campanulata in 1983 and it was uncertain whether the species had survived elsewhere or was in fact extinct
. It was rediscovered in 1997, several hundred kilometres from the type locality. Nepenthes campanulata is provisionally listed as Data Deficient
on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
.
Nepenthes campanulata has no known natural hybrids. No infraspecific taxa have been described.
by A.J.G. 'Doc' Kostermans
, the head of the Botanical Division of the Forestry Research Institute at Bogor
, on the same expedition in which he collected the type material of N. mapuluensis
. Kostermans wrote the following account of his discovery:
Nepenthes campanulata was described by Shigeo Kurata
in 1973 based on a single specimen, Kostermans 13764, deposited at the herbarium of the Singapore Botanic Gardens
. An isotype
labelled "spec. nov.!" is held at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle
in Paris
. Two more isotypes are deposited at the New York Botanical Garden
. According to Kurata, the collector stated that the species was endemic
to this single location "presumably owing to its habitat which is noted as sand and limestone walls at an altitude of 300 m".
The type material of N. campanulata lacks floral structures and these remained unknown until the species' rediscovery in 1997.
s are very short and stiff, rarely exceeding 4 cm in length.
Unlike most other species in the genus, N. campanulata produces only one type of pitcher. As the specific epithet suggests, these are campanulate or bell-shaped. The yellow-green pitchers grow to 10 cm in height and 5.5 cm in diameter. They typically lack fringed wings, instead bearing a pair of ribs running down the front. Inside the pitchers, the gland
ular region covers only the lowest quarter of the inner surface. The opening or mouth of the pitcher is circular and positioned horizontally. The peristome
is greatly reduced and bears a row of tiny teeth. The pitcher lid is elliptic to oblong and has no appendages. An unbranched, 1 mm long spur is inserted at the base of the lid. N. campanulata is wholly glabrous.
Plants spread by means of subterranean runners. Mature plants often form large clumps with numerous growth points.
on the limestone
cliffs of Gunung Mulu National Park
in Sarawak
, more than 400 km from the type locality.
Nepenthes campanulata is a lowland species, growing lithophytically
at elevations of between 300 and 500 m above sea level. It inhabits damp, mossy areas on cliff faces and appears to be endemic
to limestone substrate
s.
, a Sumatra
n endemic
. However, other taxonomists disagree with this hypothesis. These two species are similar in general stature as well as pitcher morphology. However, they are not only separated by great geographical distance, but also occur in completely different habitats; N. campanulata is a lowland species endemic
to limestone substrates, whereas N. inermis usually grows as an epiphyte
at elevations of 1500 to 2600 m.
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 Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
.
Forest fires destroyed the only known population of N. campanulata in 1983 and it was uncertain whether the species had survived elsewhere or was in fact extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
. It was rediscovered in 1997, several hundred kilometres from the type locality. Nepenthes campanulata is provisionally listed 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 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...
.
Nepenthes campanulata has no known natural hybrids. No infraspecific taxa have been described.
Discovery and naming
Nepenthes campanulata was first collected on September 9, 1957, on Mount Ilas BungaanMount Ilas Bungaan
Mount Ilas Bungaan is a limestone hill near Berau, East Kalimantan, Borneo. It is also known as Flowering Rock, a literal translation of its Indonesian name . The hill is located "on a remote stretch of the Karangan River" and its base lies at an altitude of around 300 m.Botanist A. J. G...
by A.J.G. 'Doc' Kostermans
André Joseph Guillaume Henri Kostermans
Dr. André Joseph Guillaume Henri 'Doc' Kostermans was a botanist. He was born in Purworejo, Java, Dutch East Indies, and educated at Utrecht University, taking his doctoral degree in 1936 with a paper on Surinamese Lauraceae.He spent most of his professional life studying the plants of...
, the head of the Botanical Division of the Forestry Research Institute at Bogor
Bogor
Bogor is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency , 60 kilometers south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta...
, on the same expedition in which he collected the type material of N. mapuluensis
Nepenthes mapuluensis
Nepenthes mapuluensis , the Mapulu Pitcher-Plant, is a species of tropical pitcher plant native to East Kalimantan, Borneo. It is known only from a restricted geographical range and is listed as Near Threatened on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.Nepenthes mapuluensis has no known...
. Kostermans wrote the following account of his discovery:
I was working for the Forestry Department at that time in Sangkulirang and when I had finished I wanted to find out about a flowering rock, Ilas Bungaan, upriver. After 10 days walking I saw the yellowish rock for the first time. When we were there we discovered that the yellow colour was that of the leaves of a Nepenthes completely covering the steep face of the 50 m high rock. We cut a tree that fell to the rock and acted as a ladder and climbed up. The Nepenthes was not in flower or fruit, but we found caves in the rock and in the caves a couple of boat-like coffins with sculptured dog-head ends which contained decapitated skeletons.
Nepenthes campanulata was described by Shigeo Kurata
Shigeo Kurata
is a Japanese botanist and Nepenthes taxonomist whose work in the 1960s and 1970s contributed much to the current popularity of these plants. Of particular note is his 1976 guide, Nepenthes of Mount Kinabalu....
in 1973 based on a single specimen, Kostermans 13764, deposited at the herbarium 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...
. An isotype
Isotype
Isotype can refer to:* In crystallography, an "isotype" is a synonym for isomorph* In biology, per the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, the "isotype" is a duplicate of the holotype....
labelled "spec. nov.!" is held at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle
Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
The Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle is the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.- History :The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Two more isotypes are deposited at the New York Botanical Garden
New York Botanical Garden
- See also :* Education in New York City* List of botanical gardens in the United States* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City- External links :* official website** blog*...
. According to Kurata, the collector stated that the species was endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to this single location "presumably owing to its habitat which is noted as sand and limestone walls at an altitude of 300 m".
The type material of N. campanulata lacks floral structures and these remained unknown until the species' rediscovery in 1997.
Description
Nepenthes campanulata produces short, cylindrical, climbing stems 20 to 50 cm tall and up to 4 mm thick. Leaves are coriaceous and sessile. The lamina is spathulate-lanceolate in morphology, up to 12 cm long, and 2 cm across. The apex of the lamina is rounded and slightly peltate. The base of the lamina is amplexicaul. Two to three longitudinal veins are present on each side. Pennate veins are inconspicuous. TendrilTendril
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 very short and stiff, rarely exceeding 4 cm in length.
Unlike most other species in the genus, N. campanulata produces only one type of pitcher. As the specific epithet suggests, these are campanulate or bell-shaped. The yellow-green pitchers grow to 10 cm in height and 5.5 cm in diameter. They typically lack fringed wings, instead bearing a pair of ribs running down the front. Inside the pitchers, 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 covers only the lowest quarter of the inner surface. The opening or mouth of the pitcher is circular and positioned horizontally. 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 greatly reduced and bears a row of tiny teeth. The pitcher lid is elliptic to oblong and has no appendages. An unbranched, 1 mm long spur is inserted at the base of the lid. N. campanulata is wholly glabrous.
Plants spread by means of subterranean runners. Mature plants often form large clumps with numerous growth points.
Distribution and habitat
The population of N. campanulata from which the type specimen originated was destroyed as a result of forest fires in 1983. All known populations were completely killed off in late 1991 or early 1992. Nepenthes campanulata was at this time thought to have become extinct. However, the species was rediscovered in 1997 by Ch'ien LeeCh'ien Lee
Ch'ien C. Lee is a photographer and botanist specialising in the carnivorous plant genus Nepenthes. Lee has described several new Nepenthes species, including N. chaniana, N. gantungensis, N. glandulifera, N. jamban, N. lingulata, N. palawanensis, N. pitopangii,...
on the limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
cliffs of Gunung Mulu National Park
Gunung Mulu National Park
Gunung Mulu National Park near Miri, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses incredible caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting...
in Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, more than 400 km from the type locality.
Nepenthes campanulata is a lowland species, growing lithophytically
Lithophyte
Lithophytes are a type of plant that grows in or on rocks. Lithophytes feed off moss, nutrients in rain water, litter, and even their own dead tissue....
at elevations of between 300 and 500 m above sea level. It inhabits damp, mossy areas on cliff faces and appears to be endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to limestone substrate
Substrate (biology)
In biology a substrate is the surface a plant or animal lives upon and grows on. A substrate can include biotic or abiotic materials and animals. For example, encrusting algae that lives on a rock can be substrate for another animal that lives on top of the algae. See also substrate .-External...
s.
Taxonomy
In his description of N. campanulata, Kurata suggested that it may be closely related to N. inermisNepenthes inermis
Nepenthes inermis is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra. The specific epithet inermis is Latin for "unarmed" and probably refers to the upper pitchers of this species, which are unique in that they completely lack a peristome....
, a 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...
n endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
. However, other taxonomists disagree with this hypothesis. These two species are similar in general stature as well as pitcher morphology. However, they are not only separated by great geographical distance, but also occur in completely different habitats; N. campanulata is a lowland species endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to limestone substrates, whereas N. inermis usually grows as an epiphyte
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
at elevations of 1500 to 2600 m.
External links
- Photographs of N. campanulata at the Carnivorous Plant Photofinder