Merrill's Pitcher Plant

I-Taxonomy

Usapho:	Nepenthaceae
I-Genus:	Nepenthes
Umyalelo:	Caryophyllales

Isishwankathelo

Nepenthes merrilliana is a lowland tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines, found in northern and central Mindanao and on nearby Dinagat. It produces some of the largest pitchers in the genus, rivalling those of N. rajah.

Nepenthes merrilliana is one of the giant-pitchered species of the genus. The Field Museum's account of Philippine pitcher plants gives its pitchers as up to 34 cm deep and 17 cm wide, holding as much as one and a half liters of liquid.

N. surigaoensis is closely related and was for a long time treated as a synonym of N. merrilliana; N. samar is another close ally, which Barry Rice notes is possibly the same species.

In the wild it hybridizes with N. alata (the hybrid named N. × merrilliata), N. bellii, N. mindanaoensis and N. mirabilis. Like all Nepenthes, individual plants are either male or female.

Ulwazi lweJografi

Ingingqi yoMthonyama: Philippines (endemic): northern and central Mindanao, Dinagat and nearby islands

Imimandla yeMozulu: Tropical lowland to lower montane; cultivated under glass outside the tropics

Wikipedia describes its habitat as coastal forest on steep slopes from sea level to about 1,100 m (3,600 ft), and its presence in southern Mindanao as uncertain. Co's Digital Flora of the Philippines records it from Bucas Grande, Dinagat and the Mindanao provinces of Agusan del Norte, Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and Surigao, in forests and sometimes as an epiphyte, at 20-1,700 m. The Field Museum notes plants in Surigao flourishing on exposed, sunny edges of shrubland in very poor, reddish, iron-rich soil.

Iimpawu zoMzimba

Ubungakanani obuqolileyo: Pitchers up to about 34 cm (13 in) deep and 17 cm (7 in) wide

Izinga lokuKhula: Moderate

Uhlobo lomgibe: Pitfall Trap

Like other Nepenthes, each pitcher is a modified leaf tip that holds digestive fluid. Prey is attracted by color, nectar and scent. The ridged rim around the mouth, the peristome, is slippery, and when it is wet a thin film of water makes insects 'aquaplane' into the pitcher. A waxy coating on the upper inner wall makes escape nearly impossible, and glands in the lower part absorb nutrients from the digested prey. The lid above the mouth helps keep rain out, and its underside may carry nectar glands.

Isikhokelo sokuKhathalela

Iimfuno zokukhanya

Bright, diffuse light. In the wild it often grows on exposed, sunny shrubland edges, so give it a very bright position.

Bright light year round; no seasonal rest yonke imihla

IiMfuno zaManzi

Uhlobo: Purified water (distilled, reverse osmosis or rain) is safest

Indlela: Water from above to keep the mix evenly moist and let it drain. Do not leave the pot standing in a tray of water.

Ukuphindaphinda: Often enough that the mix stays moist

Ukufuma: High: at least 60%, ideally near 90%

Umhlaba

A 50:50 mix of long-fiber sphagnum moss and perlite is a good starting point. Check the roots after a year and adjust the mix if they are not spreading through it.

pH: Acidic (sphagnum based)

Ubushushu

Ihlobo: Days 86-93°F (30-34°C), nights 14°F (8°C) cooler

Ubusika: Same as summer; keep warm all year

Ukutya

Ukuphindaphinda: Optional; any fertilizer at most once or twice a month into pitchers

Some growers add a little orchid or epiphyte fertilizer to the pitchers once or twice a month, starting with small amounts. Chemical fertilizers are best used at low strength.

Ukusasaza

Iindlela: Cuttings rooted in damp sphagnum moss in a bag or tank with high humidity and moderate light; they begin to root in one to two months and start to form pitchers in about six months. Seed loses viability soon after harvest. Tissue culture is used commercially.

Ubunzima: Moderate

Iingcebiso zabaQalayo

Treat it as a warm-growing lowlander: heat, humidity and bright light all year, with water from above.

Ukulungisa ingxaki

Leaf edges burning and no new pitchers: raise the humidity. Slow growth in a warm house: check that nights are not too cold for a lowland species.

Iingcebiso zokuKhula

Humidity first Troubleshooting

If tendrils stop producing pitchers, raise the humidity before changing anything else; Nepenthes do best at 60-90% relative humidity.

Plenty of light Advanced

In Surigao it grows on sunny, exposed edges of shrubland. Bright light helps it color up and produce large pitchers.

Keep it warm General

This is a lowland species. Aim for days around 30-34°C (86-93°F) with nights only about 8°C (14°F) cooler, all year round.

Inyaniso enika umdla

It is named after the American botanist Elmer Drew Merrill.
Its pitchers can hold as much as one and a half liters of liquid.
The Manobo people of the Surigao region call it lapsay.
N. samar and N. surigaoensis are close relatives; N. surigaoensis was long treated as the same species.
The IUCN Red List classes it as Vulnerable (Clarke et al., 2000, assessment T39676A10255369); the Philippine national list (DAO) classes it as Critically Endangered.

Imbali

John Muirhead Macfarlane described Nepenthes merrilliana in 1911, in the Contributions from the Botanical Laboratory of the University of Pennsylvania, naming it after Elmer Drew Merrill. B. H. Danser's 1928 monograph also cited it from Sulawesi, but Jebb and Cheek (1997) disagreed, and it is now regarded as a Philippine endemic. Several authors, including Danser and Jebb and Cheek, applied the name to plants that included the closely related N. surigaoensis, which was long treated as a synonym and is now listed as a separate species.

IiNkqubo

Imibuzo ebuza rhoqo

Bright, diffuse light. In the wild it often grows on exposed, sunny shrubland edges, so give it a very bright position. Injongo malunga ne-Bright light year round; no seasonal rest yokukhanya ngosuku.

Purified water (distilled, reverse osmosis or rain) is safest. Water from above to keep the mix evenly moist and let it drain. Do not leave the pot standing in a tray of water.

A 50:50 mix of long-fiber sphagnum moss and perlite is a good starting point. Check the roots after a year and adjust the mix if they are not spreading through it. I-pH yomhlaba: Acidic (sphagnum based).

Ayifuni ukuphumla. Ubushushu bebusika: Same as summer; keep warm all year.

Some growers add a little orchid or epiphyte fertilizer to the pitchers once or twice a month, starting with small amounts. Chemical fertilizers are best used at low strength. How often: Optional; any fertilizer at most once or twice a month into pitchers.

Philippines (endemic): northern and central Mindanao, Dinagat and nearby islands. Wikipedia describes its habitat as coastal forest on steep slopes from sea level to about 1,100 m (3,600 ft), and its presence in southern Mindanao as uncertain.

I-IUCN Red List ichaza ukuba i-Vulnerable.

Cuttings rooted in damp sphagnum moss in a bag or tank with high humidity and moderate light; they begin to root in one to two months and start to form pitchers in about six months. Seed loses viability soon after harvest. Tissue culture is used commercially.

Leaf edges burning and no new pitchers: raise the humidity. Slow growth in a warm house: check that nights are not too cold for a lowland species.

Carnivoras ithengisa i Merrill's Pitcher Plant eMexico. Bona izityalo ezifumanekayo kule phepha.

Iyafumaneka ukuze ithengwe

Nepenthes merrilliana

$750MXN

≈ US$40.66

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Hlala uhlaziyiwe Merrill's Pitcher Plant

Bhalisa ukufumana iingcebiso zokhathalelo, izikhokelo ezikhulayo, kunye nohlaziyo olukhethekileyo Merrill's Pitcher Plant kunye nezinye izityalo ezitya inyama.

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