Nepenthes veitchii

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Nepenthes veitchii

Description

Epiphytic or terrestrial climber (rarely a shrub) 0.5-6(-10) m tall, climbing by means of the clasping, distichous leaf blades. Leaves coriaceous, petiolate, obovate to oblanceolate, rarely suborbicular (10-)14-25 by 4-10 cm, apex truncate to retuse, rarely acute, base cuneate to ob-tuse; Fruit long and slender, valves 35(-40) by 2-2.5 mm. Seed fusiform, c. 18 mm long, central part tuberculate.

Distribution

Asia-Tropical: Borneo present (Brunei present, Kalimantan present, Sabah present), C Sarawak present
Borneo: C Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah, rarely in Kalimantan.

Ecology

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Taxonomy

2. William Hooker published () the first description of N. veitchii basing it on a Lobb collection from Sarawak, taking it to be the then incompletely known N. villosa Hook.f. which had been published without knowledge of the pitchers. His error was realised by his son Joseph who applied a new name to this plant (N. veitchii Hook.f., Trans. Linn. Soc. 22 (1859) 421), citing a Lobb specimen from 1000 ft and a Low specimen from G. Mulu at 3000 ft. The former specimen at Kew is the lectotype. It was previously identified as N. villosa in pencil, and this has been partly rubbed out, presumably indicating that it was the specimen mistaken by William. 1 Nepenthes veitchii is immediately recognisable from its close relative N. fusca by the very broad, flattened peristome and the dense, hispid hairs. Possibly unique in the genus in climbing by means of distichous clasping leaf blades. There ap-pears to be a lowland form of N. veitchii with long, narrow, spathulate leaves, a narrow lid, and a golden yellow peristome, which is often found near streams or rivers, and a highland form, with abruptly rectangular-elliptic blades, a rounded lid, and usually a green and red streaked (but sometimes yellow) peristome, which is commonly found on ridge tops. But morphological intermediates occur. Nepenthes veitchii is variable in life-form, apparently starting as a terrestrial shrub, then climbing, the stem dying below and the plant becoming epiphytic, reaching up to 30 m into tree crowns (pers. obs.). Part of the N. maxima complex.

Citation

Jebb & Cheek 1997 – In: Blumea: 89
Phillipps & A.L. Lamb 1996: Pitcher Plants of Borneo: 144: f. 77 & 78
Danser 1928 – In: Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg: 391
Clarke 1997: Nepenthes of Borneo: 131: f. 91 & 92
Mast. 1872: Gard. Chron.: 542