| Nepenthes fractiflexa | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Nepenthaceae |
| Genus: | Nepenthes |
| Species: | N. fractiflexa |
| Binomial name | |
| Nepenthes fractiflexa | |
Nepenthes fractiflexa is a tropicalpitcher plantendemic toBorneo, where it has been recorded from a small number of localities acrossSarawak andKalimantan. It grows both terrestrially andepiphytically in ridge forest at elevations of 1,400–2,150 mabove sea level.Nepenthes fractiflexa is considerably more diminutive than its putative closest relative,N. mollis. It also differs in its unusual growth habit andplant architecture, producing secondary stems with a frequency rarely seen in the genus, and having activatedaxillary buds that commonly develop intobract-likeprophylls up to 5 cm long. Furthermore, theinflorescence appears to emerge from the middle of theinternode, rather than from theleaf axil as is the norm in the genus; it is the firstNepenthes species for whichconcaulescence (a form ofmetatopy) has been proposed.[1]
Thespecific epithetfractiflexa, formed from theLatinfractus (broken) andflexus (bend), refers to the "characteristicdistichous vining stems of this species, which bend alternately at the nodes in a zig-zag fashion".[1][2]
Nepenthes fractiflexa has been informally assessed asNear Threatened according to theIUCN Red List criteria.[1]
