Nepenthes paniculata
Encyclopedia
Nepenthes paniculata is a species of pitcher plant
belonging to the genus
Nepenthes
.
Nepenthes paniculata is probably endemic
to Mount Doorman Top in New Guinea
(03°28′01"S 138°26′59"E). It has been recorded from mossy forest on a ridge top at 1,460 m altitude.
Nepenthes paniculata has no known natural hybrids. No forms or varieties have been described.
In 1994, A. Wistuba
, H. Rischer, B. Baumgartl, and B. Kistler explored Doorman Top in search of N. paniculata but found no Nepenthes other than N. lamii
(then known as N. vieillardii
) and N. maxima
. However, they climbed a different slope to the one from which N. paniculata was originally collected. Since the mountain has not been affected by human activity, it is likely that the species is still extant on the mountain.
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...
belonging to the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Nepenthes
Nepenthes
The Nepenthes , popularly known as tropical pitcher plants or monkey cups, are a genus of carnivorous plants in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus comprises roughly 130 species, numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids...
.
Nepenthes paniculata is probably 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 Mount Doorman Top in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
(03°28′01"S 138°26′59"E). It has been recorded from mossy forest on a ridge top at 1,460 m altitude.
Nepenthes paniculata has no known natural hybrids. No forms or varieties have been described.
In 1994, A. Wistuba
Andreas Wistuba
Dr. Andreas Wistuba is a German taxonomist and botanist specialising in the carnivorous plant genera Heliamphora and Nepenthes. More than half of all known Heliamphora species have been described by Wistuba.-Publications:...
, H. Rischer, B. Baumgartl, and B. Kistler explored Doorman Top in search of N. paniculata but found no Nepenthes other than N. lamii
Nepenthes lamii
Nepenthes lamii is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to New Guinea, where it grows at an altitude of up to 3520 m above sea level, higher than any other Nepenthes species...
(then known as N. vieillardii
Nepenthes vieillardii
Nepenthes vieillardii is a species of pitcher plant endemic to the island of New Caledonia. Its distribution is the most easterly of any Nepenthes species. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests....
) and N. maxima
Nepenthes maxima
Nepenthes maxima , the Great Pitcher-Plant, is a carnivorous pitcher plant species of the genus Nepenthes. It has a relatively wide distribution covering Sulawesi, New Guinea, and the Maluku Islands. It is closely related to N. eymae....
. However, they climbed a different slope to the one from which N. paniculata was originally collected. Since the mountain has not been affected by human activity, it is likely that the species is still extant on the mountain.