Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1
Carniflora AustralisJournal of the Australasian Carnivorous Plant Society Inc.
Volume 8 No. 4, September 2012
ISSN 1448-9570 PRICE $5.00 Free with Membership
2
Subscription
All members, single, family and overseas $AU25.00
Please make cheques or money orders payable to the AustralasianCarnivorous Plant Society Inc. Membership and correspondence should be
forwarded to the Secretary at [email protected]
or
PO BOX 4009Kingsway West NSW 2208 (Australia)
Meeting are held on the second Friday of each monthTime: 7.30pm—10.00pm
Venue: Woodstock Community CentreChurch St, Burwood
More information is also available at:http://www.auscps.com/modules/newbb/
An electronic copy of this issue is available at:https://auscps.wordpress.com/
ContentsFront Cover: Nepenthes hurrelliana, by Kirk ‘Füzzy’ Hirsch.Rear Cover: Nepenthes chaniana, by Robert Gibson.
Title Author Page
Drosera aberrans in New South Wales Robert Gibson 4
Pinguicula laueana x (moctezumae xemarginata)
Robert Gibson 9
Gunung Murud: The Highlight of anAventure in Borneo in 2011
Kirk ‘Füzzy’ Hirschand Robert Gibson
12
3
Date Subject Speaker
13th January 2012 General meeting
11th February 2012 General meeting
9th March 2012 Borneo Greg Bourke
13th April 2012 General meeting
11th May 2012 General meeting
8th June 2012 General meeting
UPCOMING SPEAKERS AND EVENTS
Committee 2012President: Stewart McPherson
Vice President: Greg Bourke
Secretary: Jessica Biddlecombe
Treasurer: Steve Moyle
Committee Members: Peter Biddlecombe
Robert Gibson
Kirk ‘Füzzy’ Hirsch
Helmut Kibellis
Luis Mendoza
Robert Pollet
4
Drosera aberrans (Lowrie &Carlquist) Lowrie & Conran(formerly Drosera whittakeri subsp.aberrans) is a rosetted tuberoussundew native to southern southeastern Australia. It forms flatrosettes up to 4 cm across ofobovate leaves (Figure 1). Plants ofthis species rarely flower, and whenthey do they produce only a few
Drosera aberrans in New South WalesRobert GibsonNewcastleE-mail: [email protected]
Figure 1. Drosera aberrans in cultivation. In Newcastle plants emerge inApril and are dormant by mid-October.
blooms (Figures 2 & 5); instead thisspecies reproduces very effectivelyasexually by production of daughtertubers (Lowrie 1989). This specieshas an interesting history in the stateof New South Wales (N.S.W.).
One winter, around 1990 I visitedLeo Cady, a friend in Kiama whohas a life-long interest in growing
5
Figure 2. Drosera aberrans flower in cultivation. The petals are highly fragrant.
and studying a wide range of plants.Leo had recently been botanizingalong the Turpentine Road thatconnects Nowra, on the coast, withBraidwood, on the SouthernTablelands. Leo showed me a fewlive specimens of a sundew he hadfound at one roadside site that Irecognized as D. whittakeri ssp.aberrans (as it was known then).This had me intrigued as I wasunaware of this plant being inN.S.W. before, even though it iscommon enough in many parts of
Victoria. Leo described the site tome but I did not have a chance tovisit the site at the time.
The Turpentine Road runs for about120 km with a long section along asandstone plateau. This plateau hasmany wet heathlands that are hometo several species of carnivorousplant (particularly D. auriculata,D. peltata and D. glanduligera). InJuly 2008 Kirk and I had a chanceto look for the site and endeddriving the full length of the road
6
Figure 3. Roadworks at the site on Turpentine Road in June 2010 whereD. aberrans was collected about 20 years before.
without seeing a single Droseraaberrans plant. In July 2009 I metup with Leo and accompanied himon a drive along the TurpentineRoad where he was able to identifythe site where he had seen the plantsall those years ago. We spent about40 minutes combing the localheathland without seeing anyD. aberrans plants. Perhaps theyhad already gone dormant?
In June 2010 Kirk and I visited thesite to find that it was now the focusof roadworks. Areas had beencleared about where D. aberransplants had been reported (Figure 3).We explored the remainingheathland and saw plants of Drosera
peltata, but not of D. aberrans.
The presence of this sundew at asingle site surrounded by abundantseemingly suitable habitat where itis absent suggests the populationhad a recent origin here with verylittle time to disperse. That this siteis also beside a main road alsoindicates that the plants may havebeen introduced by people; perhapsin the late 1980s. Thus it appearedthat D. aberrans had beenintroduced to N.S.W. where itapparently became extinct shortlythereafter.
Lowrie and Conran (2008) reviewedthe D. whittakeri complex. They
7
Figure 4. Distr ibution map of D. aberrans showing the site on Turpentine Road( ) which is well outside the known range of this species. Records of D. aberransfrom Lowrie and Conran (2008) are shown by ‘■’, and those from the Australian Virtual Herbarium are shown by ‘▲’. The Type location of this species in South Australia is shown by a red-edged square.
mention a historic collection ofDrosera aberrans made by a Mr.Sullivan in 1876 from the banks ofthe Edward River near Deniliquin inthe Riverina District (Melbourneherbarium specimen no.MEL96947A). This appears to bethe only wild collection of thisspecies from N.S.W. and appears tohave been missed by treatments ofthe flora of this state. TheTurpentine Road site is about 500km East North East of Deniliquinand is also about 400 km North Eastof Wangaratta which is at about thenorth eastern limit of the knownrange (Lowrie and Conran 2008;
Figure 4). This great distancebetween the Turpentine Road siteand definite wild collectionssupports the idea of humandispersal of plants near Nowra.
Drosera aberrans is native toN.S.W. but has a limited naturaldistribution. It would be useful toknow if plants still occur around theDeniliquin area. It may qualify forlisting under the (N.S.W.)Threatened Species ConservationAct 1995 as either an endangeredspecies or possibly as an extinctspecies in this state.Acknowledgements:
8
References:Lowrie, A. (1989) Carnivorous Plants of Australia: Vol. 3. University of Western
Australia Press, Nedlands.Lowrie, A. and Conran, J.G. (2008) A review of Drosera whittakeri s. lat.
(Droseraceae) and description of a new species from Kangaroo Island, SouthAustralia. Telopea 12(2):147-165.
Figure 5. Flower structure of Drosera aberrans.
also thank Kirk ‘Füzzy’ Hirsch forhis help with fieldwork, and forGreg Bourke for tubers of thisspecies to observe in cultivation.
Thank you Leo Cady for kindlysharing information with me thatled to a prolonged adventure, and inparticular for taking me to the site. I
9
Pinguicula laueana x (moctezumae x
emarginata)Robert GibsonNewcastleE-mail: [email protected]
Recently I received an adult plant ofan unusual Mexican Pinguiculahybrid that includes the famous red-flowered P. laueana as a parent. Thisbeautiful plant is described here.
DescriptionPlants of Pinguicula laueana x
(moctezumae x emarginata) weregrown by seed by Helmut Kibellis,the well-known resident Pinguiculaexpert in Sydney. After many yearsthese plants reached flowering size,and Helmut kindly shared one ofthese plants with me (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Plant in flower ; note the long nectary spur and new summer leaves.
This medium-sized perennial MexicanButterwort has a seasonal pattern ofgrowth with a period of winterdormancy, when new growth stops oris at least very slow, and with mostnew leaves produced in the warmestpart of the year. The winter rosette of amature plant is about 45 mm across,and consists of about 80 obovateleaves to 20 mm long by 5 mm wide.The leaf base is erect before the centraland upper part of the leaves flatten out,so the rosette forms a low dome(Figure 2).
10
Figure 2. Detail of the winter rosette.
Figure 3. Flower from the front.
New growth resumes around Augustwhen a few flower buds may emerge inthe centre of the rosette. One to threeflower buds may be produced in latewinter to early spring with flowersopen from September to earlyDecember. In September the centre ofthe rosette opens to allow the largersummer leaves to develop. Theseleaves are oblong, about 40 mm longby 10 mm wide, and are semi-erect.
The flowers of this hybrid are beautifuland long-lived. They are bornesingularly at the end of a glandularhairy semi-erect scape to 15 cm long by2 mm diameter. The five sepals at thebase of the flower are green, glandularhairy, ovate and between about 3 and 5mm long, with an acute apex. The darkpink flower is flat and out-facing about30 mm long and 30 mm wide (Figure3). It has five obovate petals which arevariable in shape and all of which areconnected at their base around thefloral throat. The free portions of theupper pair of petals are about 11 mmlong by 12 mm wide. The three lowerpetals are clustered together below theflower centre; their free portions areabout 13 mm long and about 10 mm
wide. The central part of the flower hasa vertical pale yellow stripe about 5 mmlong that leads to the entrance of theflower’s throat, which is about 3 mmdiameter. The dark red stigma is about2 mm wide and occurs on the upperside of the flower throat, and is locatedimmediately in front of the pair ofstamens. The flower throat is theentrance to the nectar spur which is sub-horizontal and is about 55 mm long.The exterior of the spur is dark pink andglandular hairy. This hybrid appears tobe sterile.
CultivationPlants grow in a full-length pot 10 cmdiameter in a mix of almost pureperlite, with minor (<5%) vermiculite.The pot is in a terrarium under a 12hour photo period of white fluorescentlight, about 20 cm from the light. Thepot does not sit in a tray of water and iswatered lightly a few days a weekduring the growing season, and aboutonce a week in the winter.
11
Figure 4. Oblique view of the flower; note the long nectary spur .
stay green and small swellings formaround the leaf base. These swellingsproduce roots and small leaves andsoon a small plantlet. When theplantlets have a few roots they may beremoved from the propagation chamberand grown in the same environment asthe parent plant.
ConclusionThis Mexican hybrid is beautiful andeasy to grow and propagate. It has aninteresting parentage and is worthconsideration for adding to yourcollection.
AcknowledgementI am grateful to Helmut for providingme with a plant of this delightfulhybrid.
PropagationNew plants of this hybrid can be raisedby division, leaf cuttings, and sowingseed of the recreated cross. Over timemature plants form new growing pointsand slowly form a cluster of rosettesside by side. These may be gentlyunpotted and teased apart and grown innew pots. The simplest and mostinteresting way of propagation is byleaf cuttings. A few rosette leaves maybe gently pulled free from a rosette inlate winter. They may be placed on themix beside the parent plant.Alternatively they may be placed on abed of moist perlite, vermiculite orsphagnum moss in a sealed containerin a well-lit and warm (ideally between15-25°C) environment. Over the nextfour weeks or so most of the leaves
12
Gunung Murud: The Highlight of anAdventure in Borneo in 2011
Kirk ‘Füzzy’ Hirsch and Robert GibsonNewcastleE-mail: [email protected]
IntroductionBetween the 10th and 23rd of October2011, we travelled to Borneo, visitingvarious sites in Sarawak and Sabah.Our aims were to see a range ofcarnivorous plants in the wild, to learnmore about the area’s rainforestbiodiversity in general, to see themajestic landscapes and to experiencethe culture of a land with a reputationfor awesome mystique. We spent themajority of our time as part of a tourorganized by Ch’ien Lee (Wild BorneoPty Limited). Thanks to Ch’ien wesaw about 20 species of Nepenthes,five species of Utricularia and onespecies of Drosera. We visited a rangeof habitats from steamy forests andwetlands in the lowlands to mossforest, low Rhododendron forest andshrubland on ultramafic soils in thehighlands. Not only did we see anabundance of carnivorous plants, butwe also saw an impressive diversity oforchids and palms, met some of thefriendly locals, and sampled a range ofwonderful food available – delicious!We visited places that many havevisited and written about before (e.g.Bourke 2011). Thus this articlepresents our highlights of the trip, inparticular the amazing experience oftime spent on Gunung Murud, thehighest peak in Sarawak.
Where we wentJohn, a friend from the US flew withus into Kuching, three days before thetour started. Kuching is the capital ofSarawak with a population of about500,000 people, and is the largest cityin Borneo. We stayed in a hotel by theSarawak River, near the city centre,which gave us a view of theimpressive Parliament Building. Itscircular design reminded us of acarnival merry-go-round. Before thetour started we visited the SemenggohWildlife Centre about 18 km south ofthe city centre to see Orangutans. Wealso went to the Padawan PitcherPlant and Wild Orchid Garden, about3 km North of Semenggoh where aselection of locally native Nepenthesspecies and hybrids are on display, notto mention native and South Americanorchids growing prolificallyeverywhere we looked. We alsovisited an impressive Sarawak OrchidGarden right next to the stateparliament building, which also hadseveral of the local species ofNepenthes on display, including avery healthy Nepenthes bicalcaratawith an unusually orange pitchercolour. We tried to see a Rafflesia inbloom before the tour started, butwere out of luck – next time.
13
Figure 1. Map of Borneo with key locations visited on our travels there. Wevisited in the following order: Kuching, Miri, Bario, Miri, Lawas, Gunung Murud,Lawas, Mt Kinabalu and finished in Kota Kinabalu.
(Bourke, 2011), we instead were goingto climb Gunung Murud, a sandstonemassif also in the northern part of theSarawak which has the highest point inSarawak (Figure 1).
In summary our tour started with a daytrip to Bako National Park, about 26 kmdue NNE of Kuching, to see Droseraspatulata var. bakoensis, and a range
We chose to stay at the hotel where thetour was to start from, to make it simpleto meet Ch’ien and the rest of thegroup, including Holger and AnjaHennern. The itinerary of the tour wasalmost identical to the tour put togetherfor the Sarawak Nepenthes Conferenceof 2007. The main difference was thatrather than climbing Gunung Mulu alimestone massif in northern Sarawak
14
Figure 2. Bearded Pig Sus barbatus atBako National Park.
Figure 3. Key locations visited in the nor thern par t of Sarawak. GunungMurud is about 20 km N of Bario but was accessed from the north, via Merarap
day we headed to the Bau region, about30 km SW of Kuching by mini-bus tosee the impressive N. northiana in thewild on a small, but tricky to walk overlimestone ridge. We also visited a well-known Nepenthes site with red-pitchered Nepenthes ampullaria as wellas large plants of N. rafflesiana,N. hirsuta and N. mirabilis, plus severalhybrids between these species allgrowing on a hilltop. Recently-fallentrees covered part of this roadside site.They were the result of clearing of anadjacent area prior to the establishmentof an oil palm plantation – a commontheme in many parts of Borneo.
From Kuching we flew about 500 kmNE to the coastal city of Miri whichwas used as a base from which to visitthe Borneo Rainforest Lodge in the
of lowland Nepenthes species andsome hybrids. We also found severalspecies of Utricularia. Highlightsincluded seeing plants ofN. rafflesiana, the endemic and highlyrestricted (although locally common)D. spatulata var. bakoensis, BeardedPigs (Figure 2) and a range of monkeysnear the visitor’s centre. The following
15
Figure 4. Nepenthes veitchii in a garden at Bario.
16
Figure 5. Some of the pools at Merarup Hotspr ings with the main lodge in thebackground.
up the native trees, all festooned withorchids and lichen, while the N veitchiiemerged from a clump of ferns(Figure 4).
From Bario we flew back to Miri andcaught a second plan to Lawas, 170 kmto the NE in the far north of Sarawak.At Lawas we hopped onto two awaitingfour-wheel drives and headed about 60km SE to the Merarup Hotsprings,which is a fantastic resort in a secludedsetting by a river. It has numerousexcavated pools of water of differenttemperatures where scalding hot springwater is variably mixed with coolersurface water (Figure 5). Since thegeothermal water is from tectonic andnot a volcanic source, it had no rottenegg smell to it. Oh what great luxury tosit still and take in the local ambiencefrom a soothing pool in the rocks.
Lambir Hills, which is about 20 km SEof Miri (Figure 3). En route we stoppedby a seeping sandstone road-cuttingthat had impressive plants of Nepenthesbicalcarata and N. mirabilis var.echinostoma. We returned to Miri tothen catch a flight to Bario about 180km ESE. The lovely town (kampung)of Bario is at about 1000 metres inaltitude and is about 13 km from theborder of Indonesia. We had one fullday to walk to several lovely Nepenthessites near the town and to enjoy thecooler weather at this altitude. Westayed at a lodge house that wasincredible, for the owner had rescuedplants over the years from clearing androadworks. So, we envied how hugeplants of Nepenthes stenophylla,N. reinwardtiana and N. veitchii wereall growing happily in his front garden.The two climbing species were growing
17
Figure 6. Map of the Gunung Murud area. Access is via a steep path on theNE flank of the massif then a two hour or so walk west to Church Camp.
road at the site of the Ranger Stationfor Pulong Tau National Park that sitsat the northern base of the GunungMurud sandstone massif. Here we leftthe vehicles and collected our lightenedpacks (thank you porters) and startedthe walk up to Church Camp.
Gunung Murud is located along thewestern edge of the border betweenSarawak and Kalimantan and reaches2423 m altitude. It is not as well-knownas other peaks in Sarawak and due tothe fewer numbers of visitors it offersa remarkable chance to see details ofthe local ecology, for example manyimpressive orchids and Nepenthesoccur right by the path, includingseedlings, which are far less commonbeside more popular tracks. It took us agrueling 4 hours to scale the northernedge of the plateau, as the gradebecame ever steeper the higher we
The following day we left much of ourluggage there before driving 50 kmSSE on rough logging roads to the baseof Gunung Murud (Figure 6). On theway we stopped at a logging camp tosee a Nepenthes site on an excavatedhillside in which spectacular plants ofN. chaniana grew in abundance withN. fusca, N. reinwardtiana and oneN. vogelli plant. Since Ch’ien’s lastvisit here part of the slope had slumpedaway taking with it large andimpressive N. vogelii plants. Westopped a few more times on the wayto Gunung Murud to see a roadside sitewith large plants of N. fusca, one ofwhich had a flower mantis on oneinflorescence whose green and yellowcolour mimicked that of the flowers.From a distance we also saw a largeepiphytic plant of N. reinwardtiana ona rainforest emergent. By mid-afternoon we reached the end of the
18
Figure 7. The Joy Br idge covered walkway that goes par t of the way to ChurchCamp.
of an abandoned religious communityretreat; set in a swampy heathlandabout 4 km west of the Gunung Murudsummit (Figure 8). It seemed like amovie set for a ghost filled horrormovie, complete with a local tale ofsomeone who disappeared nearby neverto be seen again.
We had a full day on Gunung Murud,which provided a chance to lookaround the local area and to explorelocal trails. The native vegetation of thearea consists of a low mossy rainforestwith Rhododendron, Tristania,Dacridyium and a host of other canopyand shrub species. Moss growsabundantly on the ground and as anepiphyte. It usually occurs around
ascended. Upon reaching the top, rightthere by the path we beheld animpressive N. lowii plant with arecently opened upper pitcher.
As it was reaching late afternoon, wetook out our head torches to have thenhandy when it grew dark. The localshad built a raised and covered woodenwalkway, the ‘Joy Bridge’ to hasten thetrip to Church Camp (Figure 7). Manyparts of this walkway have fallen intodisrepair and for most of its length it issafer to walk on the ground beside thewalkway. It took about two hours fromthe start of the Joy Bridge to reachChurch Camp where a hot cup of teaawaited us. Church Camp is anassemblage of rotting wooden buildings
19
Figure 8. View south over Church camp. The walk to the summit of GunungMurud is to the right.
had to commence the return journey inorder to arrive back at Church Campwith daylight to spare.
It was very peaceful at Church Camp, ifnot a bit eerie at night. The area is toohigh for most bird species and it is wellaway from other population centres.The main noises heard came fromvarious Gibbons calling from parts ofthe large expanse of rainforest aroundthe mountain.
Our run of fine weather ended duringthe second night on the mountain. Aftera nice hot breakfast we packed up, puton our waterproof clothes andcommenced the walk back to theranger’s station. There was still time totake photos of some of the wonderfulplant life and scenery of the area. Thetwo vehicles, with drivers were waitingfor us at the Ranger’s station and wewere soon on our way back to MerarapHot Springs. Oh what bliss to giveaching muscles a chance to recoverfrom the taxiing hike by relaxing in thehot spring water.
After packing up the next day, we thendrove back to Lawas. After lunch weswapped vehicles and drove up toKandasan, Sabah in a minibus. We
places that have Nepenthes. Weencountered the following pitcherplants on the mountain: N. hurrelliana,N. lowii, N. muluensis, N. murudensisand N. tentaculata, with a few putativehybrids between some of these species(see below). Plants of all ages wereobserved in the summit plateau, withsome N. hurrelliana and N. lowiiseedlings noted on some of theexposed, decaying timber of the JoyBridge. Some large N. tentaculataplants were popping up in theperiodically cleared ‘lawn’ of ChurchCamp. Several large plants ofN. muluensis grew in clumps of mossbeside the path. These plants appearedto have recently fallen from overheadbranches. The walk to the summit ismostly through low mossy forest andhas a number of small creek crossings.
We reached the largest of those creekswhich has a relatively wide sandstoneplatform on which Utricularia striatulahas been reported. Beyond this creek astony slope winds its way up to thesummit, an area also known as the‘Rock Garden’. Plants of N. muluensisare said to sprawl abundantly over theground and rocks (Ch’ien Lee, pers.comm., 2011). Unfortunately we didnot see this scene for ourselves as we
20
Figure 9. A large plant of N. chaniana on an embankment. Long golden hair scover most parts of this species. This hairy quality combined with the yellow-greenoverall pigmentation causes plants to glow when backlit by the sun (see also back
wonderful plants! On the last day of thetour we went to Mesilau Resort whereCh’ien had gained access for us to see anearby Nepenthes rajah population.Despite all the hype about this species,it is magical to see it in the wild. After afew hours of enjoying this last site wecommenced the drive about 80 km tothe west to Kota Kinabalu, the capitalof Sabah. Here we had a chance to visitBorneo Books, one of the best naturalhistory bookshops in Borneo (whichsell some of Ch’ien’s publications) andthen had a wonderful last meal together.
were on the southern side of theincredibly impressive Mount Kinabalu.On our full day at this place we walkedpart way up the main trail of MountKinabalu to see an unforgettableNepenthes villosa population. Wehappened to be on the trail the daybefore the annual race to the summit,and so we were being passed by manyathletes training by running up anddown the trail that we clearly found farmore challenging. But at least we wereable to spend more time admiring the
21
Figure 10. Nepenthes fusca plantsby a logging camp NW of GunungMurud.
Near the base of Gunung Murud,Ch’ien directed both cars to stop besidea road cutting that supported some verylarge N. fusca plants. Some of thesewere in flower. On one male scape abeautiful Flower Mantis, possiblyCreobroter gemmatus, was perchingaround the ring of recently openedflowers (Figure 11).
by only a few small plants at Mesilauon Mount Kinabalu, had stronglydecurrent petioles (so the stems weretriangular in cross-section) and verynarrow lids to the pitchers.
The group:Ch’ien Lee, the tour leader, is theauthor of many papers on Nepenthesecology and taxonomy; he has anincredible knowledge of thebiodiversity of the places we visited.Holger Hennern, Anja Hennern, JohnMcCoy, Christine, Robin, Richard.
Nepenthes seen on the return trip fromMerarap to Gunung Murud:
Nepenthes chanianaWe saw N. chaniana at only one site; ahillside cutting at a logging campbetween Merarap Hot Springs andGunung Murud. Abundant golden hairscover plants and young pitchers of thisspecies. They have impressiveinfundibular yellow-green pitchers upto 30 cm tall (Figure 9 & Back cover).Plants grew in decomposed sandstoneamongst Gleichenia ferns and Lycopdsin the company of N. fusca,N. reinwardtiana and N. vogelii. At thissite N. chaniana developed minimal redpigmentation. The pitchers had awonderfully sweet aroma, and many ofthem had dark random lines ofdamaged tissue caused by some type ofleaf miner.
Nepenthes fuscaWe encountered two forms of N. fuscaon the trip; the most frequentlyencountered variety near GunungMurud has petioles that extend only ashort distance below the node (so thatthe stem is generally circular in cross-section). The relatively wide lid has adistinctly ovate base (Figure 10). Thesecond form encountered, represented
22
Figure 11. Flower Mantis on a N.fusca inflorescence. This Mantis haspositioned itself by the active flowers.
are cylindrical, to 15 cm long, and theupper pitchers are infundibular. Theycan reach up to 30 cm long. The mouthis horizontal near the front and verticalat the rear and supports an impressive,prominently ribbed peristome up to 4cm wide. The lid is narrowly ovate andcovers little of the pitcher mouth.Pitchers are richly variegated in red andgreen (Front cover & Figure 12). Thiswas a stunning species to see in thewild.
Nepenthes lowiiThe distinctive N. lowii was seen onlyon Gunung Murud from above about1500 metres altitude; we did not see italong the summit trail to MountKinabalu where it has also beenrecorded (Clarke, 1997). As withN. hurrelliana, with which it oftengrows, this species commonly thrives asan epiphyte in moss forest and can formrobust plants with stems up to about 5metres in length. We often missed theselarge epiphytic plants until we learnedone simple trick to find them. Justidentify the remains of dead, detachedpitchers on the path and then stop andlook up. Juvenile plants were morecommonly seen, and had thosewonderful cylindrical pitchers with stiffhairs on the underside of the lid (Figure13). Larger plants had few activepitchers which when combined with thelong stems that such plants can formmade it harder to get a good view of theupper pitchers. One notable exceptionwas the plant at waist height at theeastern end of the Joy Bridge (Figure14).
Nepenthes hurrellianaThe impressive Nepenthes hurrellianagrew in local abundance on the summitridge of Gunung Murud from aboveabout 2000 m altitude. This speciesoften flourished as an epiphyte in themoss forest at this location, but we alsofound it in peaty soil beside the trail tothe summit. Some seedlings were alsogrowing in moss on damaged parts ofthe Joy Bridge. Plants have a distinctivecover of long brown hairs over mostparts They form stems to 2 m long. Theovate leaves have a channeled petiolethat continues some distance below thenode (thus forming stems that aretriangular in cross-section, and which isa character that Ch’ien explained canbe used to tell it apart from localN. fusca plants). The lower pitchers
23
Figure 12. Impressive pitchers of N. hurrelliana beside the path toChurch Camp. This species was locally common and easy to see.
24
Figure 13. Juvenile plant of N. lowiiwith an open lower pitcher.
Figure 14. Recently opened upperpitcher of N. lowii by the eastern endof the Joy Bridge.
easier to see on Gunung Murud besidewalking trails.
Nepenthes murudensisNepenthes murudensis is endemic toGunung Murud. It is a larger plant thanN. muluensis and is distinguished by itsleaves with decurrent attachment to thestem. It also differs by its lower pitchersthat lack hairs on the upper side of thelid, and larger upper pitchers, that growto 30 cm tall by 6 cm diameter, which
Nepenthes muluensisNepenthes muluensis – likeN. murudensis -- is close toN. tentaculata. All three species areterrestrial or grow as epiphytes. Theyall form long slender climbing stemsand have cylindrical thin-walledpitchers with a weakly bulbous base, anarrow peristome, and a lid that oftensupports scattered coarse hairs on theupper surface (at least in lowerpitchers). Nepenthes muluensis isdistinguished by its leaf bases that haveminimum overlap with the stem (i.e.they are sessile or at best minimallydecurrent). It makes the stem circular incross-section. Its red lower pitcherscontrast with its pale green, red-mottledupper pitchers. The relatively small sizeof its mature pitchers can reach up to12 cm long and 3 cm diameter (Figure15). This species, as the name suggests,also grows on the jagged limestonemassif of Gunung Mulu, but it is much
25
Figure 15. Juvenile plants of Nepenthes muluensis have red lower pitchers andoften red pigment on the underside of the leaves, and hairs on the upper side of the lid.
26
Figure 16. Upper pitchers ofN. muluensis
Figure 17 Nepenthes murudensis (left) growing with N. hurrelliana (right) besidethe path to Church Camp.
also have more diffuse red pigmentation– when developed – on the outersurface (Figure 17). This species islocally common and readily seen besidepaths on the plateau top.
Nepenthes reinwardtianaNepenthes reinwardtiana occurs in theforests of the hills and ranges below theGunung Murud massif, where it growsterrestrially, where we saw it at thelogging camp and as isolated plants inroadside vegetation. It can also grow asan epiphyte. Plants form stems that canreach over 5 metres long and haveelegant, glabrous pitchers to 25 cm talland 5 cm diameter. Usually green, somepitchers can locally also have a bronze-red colour (Figure 18). They all havetwo distinctive circular ‘eye spots’ atthe back of the pitcher below the pointof attachment of the lid where the waxysurface of the pitcher interior is notproduced.
27
Figure 18. Nepenthes reinwardtiana with reddish pitchers at the logging camp.Most plants seen elsewhere on our travels had green pitchers.
upper pitchers (Figure 19). The upperpitchers grow up to 15 cm tall by 3 cmwide.
Despite its widespread range thisspecies if easy to overlook, for it oftenoccurs as very scattered plants in anysuitable environment and the very darkpitchers do not stand out against a darkbackground – to human eyes anyway.
Nepenthes tentaculataNepenthes tentaculata is a widespreadspecies. However, it is rarely commonin any location. It is distinguished fromN. muluensis and N. murudensis by thedegree of leaf attachment to the stem,the thin-walled pitchers that arecommonly dark purple to black on theexterior, the rhombic entrance to thepitcher mouth and the presence ofcoarse erect hairs on the rhombic lid on
28
Figure 19. Nepenthes tentaculata.in periodically slashed wet herbfield at ChurchCamp.
ConservationOne strong theme to emerge from thistrip was that of the need forconservation of both plants and theirhabitats. We were indeed spoilt bybeing easily taken to some of the betterexamples of Nepenthes plants and theirhabitat, the latter usually in places thatare protected and managed forconservation. However, small refuges ofhabitat set aside as National Park, orsimilar reserve may not be enough toensure the long-term survival of manyspecies particularly as large areas ofsurrounding forest goes through thecycle of logging then, ultimately,clearing for oil palm plantation. Inaddition there are ambitious plans for
Nepenthes vogeliiOne plant of N. vogelii was seen at theback of the logging camp. This speciesmost commonly grows epiphyticallyand thus is rarely seen up close in thistype of environment. Nepenthes vogeliipitchers are about 13 cm tall and 3.5cm diameter. The lower pitchers arecylindrical and the upper pitchers areinfundibular. The exterior of allpitchers have coarse red blotches on agreen background (McPherson, 2009).This species is similar to N. fusca but ismost readily differentiated by its roundlid that lacks a nectary appendage at isbase (Figure 20).
29
Figure 20. The only Nepenthes vogelii plant seen on our tr ip grew at the backof a logging camp where it grew with N. chaniana, N. fusca and N. reinwardtiana.This plant shows the round lid which is a key feature for distinguishing it from N.
however one underlying theme is howbest to show the value of biodiversity insitu and the wider environment requiredto support it. We hope that by going onthis trip and sharing the experience thatit will go some way to show that thesewonderful places exist and have greatvalue just as they are.
ConclusionsTravelling in Borneo was an incredibleexperience, particularly on such a well-organised tour and with suchenthusiastic and knowledgeable people.It was excellent to see a large number ofthe native Nepenthes species and visit anumber of different habitats. Time on
the development of reservoirs for hydroelectricity generation that would floodlarge areas of lowland rainforest incurrently little-changed parts ofSarawak.
Gunung Murud offers a wonderfulexperience of an accessible yet lessfrequented area of mossy forest wherepoaching does not appear to be aproblem. Here it is possible to seeNepenthes, orchids and delicate herbsdirectly beside, and sometimes on thepath; something that is less frequent onplaces on the tourist trail.
Conservation issues embrace a numberof complex and competing factors,
30
Figure 21. The summit of Gunung Murud viewed from Church Camp about 4km to the West.
ReferencesBourke, G. (2011) The Nepenthes of Mulu National Park. Carniflora Australis 8(1):
20-31Clarke, C. (1997) Nepenthes of Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota
Kinabalu.Clarke, C. (2001) Nepenthes of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia. Natural History
Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.McPherson, S. (2009) Pitcher Plants of the Old World. Redfern Natural History
Productions, Poole.
Gunung Murud (Figure 21) wasdefinitely a highlight, and it is great toknow that such places exist.
AcknowledgementsThanks to Ch’ien Lee for organizing
such a memorable trip, to the driversand porters who lightened our load andallowed us time to focus on the wondersaround us, and to our travellingcompanions who enriched thisunforgettable experience.
31
Notes to contributors
Contributions including articles, letters, photographs and drawings to the journal aregreatly appreciated and may be forwarded to the Society's postal address or on-line.The views expressed in this journal are of the authors not necessarily those of theAustralasian Carnivorous Plant Society Inc.
Contributions to the journal may be submitted on CD, DVD, pen drive or by email.Use Microsoft Word whenever possible. For instructions on submitting photographsand diagrams please contact the editor ([email protected]). Contact details arepreferred for publication but may be excluded by the author/s request.
Articles may be reproduced with written permission from the Society. Photographsand drawings remain copyright of the author and may not be reproduced without theauthor’s permission.
Dedicated to Conservation and Education
© Australasian Carnivorous Plant Society Inc. 2012
Invertebrate eggs laid in theinterior of a Nepenthesvillosa pitcher on MtKinabalu. Photo by Kirk‘Füzzy’ Hirsch.
32
