| Nepenthes× kinabaluensis | |
|---|---|
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| Large lower pitcher ofN. ×kinabaluensis from Mount Kinabalu | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Nepenthaceae |
| Genus: | Nepenthes |
| Species: | N. × kinabaluensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Nepenthes× kinabaluensis | |
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| Distribution ofN. × kinabaluensis. | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Nepenthes ×kinabaluensis/nɪˈpɛnθiːzˌkɪnəbɑːluˈɛnsɪs/, or theKinabalu pitcher-plant,[3] is the natural hybrid betweenN. rajah andN. villosa.[4] It was first collected nearKambarangoh onMount Kinabalu,Borneo byLilian Gibbs in 1910 and later mentioned byJohn Muirhead Macfarlane as "Nepenthes sp." in 1914.[5] Although Macfarlane did not formally name the plant, he noted that "[a]ll available morphological details suggest that this is a hybrid betweenN. villosa andN. rajah".[6] It was finally described in 1976 byShigeo Kurata asN. ×kinabaluensis. The name was first published inNepenthes of Mount Kinabalu, but was anomen nudum at the time as it lacked an adequate description and information on thetype specimen. The name was subsequently published validly by Kurata in 1984.[7]
Thepitchers ofN. ×kinabaluensis may be quite large, but do not compare to those ofN. rajah orN. ×alisaputrana (N. burbidgeae ×N. rajah).Nepenthes ×kinabaluensis can only be found on Mount Kinabalu (hence the name) and nearbyMount Tambuyukon, where the two parent species occursympatrically.[8] More specifically, plants are known from a footpath near Paka Cave and several places along an unestablished route on a south-east ridge, which lies on the west side of theUpper Kolopis River.[5] The only accessible location from which this hybrid is known is the Kinabalu summit trail, betweenLayang-Layang and thehelipad, where it grows at about 2,900 m in a clearing dominated byDacrydium gibbsiae andLeptospermum recurvum trees.Nepenthes × kinabaluensis has an altitudinal distribution of 2,420 to 3,030 m.[9] It grows in open areas in cloud forest.
The hybrid is generally intermediate in appearance between its parent species. Raised ribs line the inner edge of the peristome and end with elongated teeth. These are more prominent than those found inN. rajah and smaller than those ofN. villosa. The peristome is coarse and expanded at the margin (but not scalloped like that ofN. rajah), the lidorbiculate orreniform and almost flat. In general, pitchers are larger than those ofN. villosa and the tendril joins the apex about 1–2 cm below the leaf tip, a feature which is characteristic ofN. rajah.[10] In older plants, the tendril can be almost woody.N. ×kinabaluensis is an indumentum of villous hairs covering the pitchers and leaf margins, which is approximately intermediate between the parents. Lower pitchers have two fringed wings, whereas the upper pitchers usually lack these. The colour of the pitcher varies from yellow to scarlet.N. ×kinabaluensis seems to produce upper pitchers more readily than either of its parents. In all respectsN. ×kinabaluensis is intermediate between the two parent species and it is easy to distinguish from all otherNepenthes of Borneo. However, it has been confused once before, when the hybrid was identified asN. rajah inLetts Guide to Carnivorous Plants of the World.[11]
