Common Swamp Pitcher Plant
Nepenthes mirabilis
98 vaaiga
Taxonomy
| Aiga: | Nepenthaceae |
|---|---|
| Genus: | Nepenthes |
| Poloaiga: | Caryophyllales |
Vaaiga lautele
Nepenthes mirabilis is by far the most widespread tropical pitcher plant, ranging from southern China through Southeast Asia and the Malay Archipelago to northern Australia. It is a very variable lowland species of wet, often sandy places.
Nepenthes mirabilis is an erect or climbing plant 0.5-2 m tall. Young plants form a dense rosette of lanceolate leaves about 10 cm long with small, narrowly ovoid pitchers 2-7 cm tall. Leaves on the climbing stem are oblong to lanceolate, 10-25 cm long and often dotted purple-red, with a tendril about as long as the leaf blade. The leaves are usually rather flimsy.
The upper pitchers are cylindrical and slightly widened at the base, 6-21 cm tall, with two fringed wings, a mouth 1.5-5 cm wide and an ovate to oblong lid about 4.5 cm long. The inside of the lower part of the pitcher is glandular and the upper part smooth. Flowers are borne on racemes 20-50 cm long, with four red to purplish-red tepals; like all Nepenthes, plants are either male or female. The seeds are thread-like, about 1.2 cm long.
The species varies greatly across its range and has more synonyms than any other Nepenthes. Two varieties are accepted: var. echinostoma from Brunei and Sarawak, with an extremely broad, flat peristome, and var. globosa from southern Thailand, with squat, rounded pitchers. It is closely related to the three Australian endemics N. rowaniae, N. tenax and N. parvula.
Fa'amatalaga Fa'afanua
Itulagi: Southern China and Indochina through Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, the southern Philippines, Maluku, New Guinea and Palau to Cape York, Australia
Sone o le Tau: Tropical lowlands; grown under glass outside the tropics
Forests, grasslands, swamps, roadsides and waste ground, usually in wet places and often on sandy soils. In China it grows from sea level to 400 m. It has also been recorded from many small islands across its range. In Borneo var. echinostoma is the only form found in Brunei.
Uiga Faaletino
Fuamatua: Plant 0.5-2 m (1.6-6.6 ft); upper pitchers 6-21 cm (2.4-8.3 in) tall
Fuafuaga o le Tuputupu ae: Moderate
Ituaiga Mailei: Pitfall Trap
The pitcher is a pitfall trap formed at the end of the leaf tendril. Insects drawn to the nectar glands of the lid can fall from the slippery peristome into the fluid. The glandular lower part of the inner wall secretes digestive fluid, which can be as acidic as pH 2, while the smooth upper part makes escape difficult. The pitchers host many other organisms, including mosquito and midge larvae, mites, a nematode (Baujardia mirabilis) and diverse bacteria.
Taiala Tausiga
Malamalama Manaomia
Bright, diffuse light; artificial light can be enough if it is bright. In the wild it often grows in open, sunny wet places.
Bright light year round aso uma
Suavai Manaomia
Ituaiga: Purified water (distilled, reverse osmosis or rain) is safest
Metotia: Water from above to keep the mix moist and let the excess drain. Plants left standing in trays often develop dwarfed root systems.
Fa'atele: Often enough to keep the mix evenly moist
Susū: High: at least 60%, ideally near 90%
Eleele
A 50:50 mix of long-fiber sphagnum moss and perlite is a good general starting point. Growers also use pure sphagnum or sphagnum with other coarse aggregates. Check the roots after a year.
pH: Acidic (sphagnum based)
vevela
Summer: Days 86-93°F (30-34°C), nights 14°F (8°C) cooler
Taumalulu: Same as summer; a warm-growing lowland species
Fafaga
Fa'atele: Optional; fertilizer at most once or twice a month into pitchers
Plants in a greenhouse catch insects on their own. An orchid or epiphyte fertilizer can be poured into the pitchers once or twice a month, starting small; it is optional.
Fa'aliga
Metotia: Stem cuttings with about two leaves each, leaves trimmed to about a third, kept in very high humidity; roots usually form in about a month. Seed needs a male and a female plant flowering at the same time; it is short-lived and should be sown immediately.
Faigata: Moderate
Fautuaga mo Amata
Treat it as a warm-growing lowland plant: high humidity, bright light, purified water from the top, and no cold nights.
Fa'afitauli
New leaves without pitchers or with burnt edges: humidity is too low. Weak, small root system: the pot has been standing in water.
Fautuaga Faatupulaia
Know your variety Advanced
N. mirabilis var. echinostoma has a very broad, flat peristome, and var. globosa squat, rounded pitchers. Keep labels and locality data with your plants.
Keep humidity high Troubleshooting
At least 60% relative humidity, and closer to 90% is better. Low humidity shows as burnt leaf edges and tendrils that never form pitchers.
A lowland plant needs warm nights General
Lowland Nepenthes like N. mirabilis grow best with days around 30-34°C (86-93°F) and nights only about 8°C (14°F) cooler.
Mea Moni Manaia
It has the widest distribution of any Nepenthes species.
It forms more known natural hybrids than any other species in the genus.
The name mirabilis is Latin for 'wonderful'.
In southern China tree frogs have been seen sitting in the pitchers, feeding on insects the plant attracts without being digested.
The first aquatic fungus recorded living in a carnivorous plant's pitcher was found in N. mirabilis on the Jardine River in Australia.
In Hong Kong it is a protected species under Forestry Regulations Cap. 96A.
The IUCN Red List assessed it as Least Concern in 2014 (Clarke, assessment T49122515A21844202).
Talafaasolopito
Nepenthes mirabilis was first described under the Linnaean system by João de Loureiro, as Phyllamphora mirabilis, in his Flora Cochinchinensis of 1790. Carl Ludwig Willdenow moved it to Nepenthes in 1805 under the illegitimate name N. phyllamphora, and the correct combination N. mirabilis was published by George Claridge Druce in 1916.
The broad-lipped variety echinostoma was found by Odoardo Beccari in 1865 and described as a species, N. echinostoma, by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1873. The round-pitchered var. globosa was described by Marcello Catalano in 2010, after circulating in the horticultural trade as 'Nepenthes globosa' and 'Nepenthes sp. Viking'.
Fuafuaga
- Nepenthes mirabilis, Wikipedia
- Nepenthes mirabilis, Flora of China vol. 8 (eFloras)
- Nepenthes: species of Borneo, The Carnivorous Plant FAQ (Barry Rice)
- Nepenthes: the tropical pitcher plants, The Carnivorous Plant FAQ (Barry Rice)
- Nepenthes: basic cultivation, The Carnivorous Plant FAQ (Barry Rice)
- Nepenthes: advanced cultivation, The Carnivorous Plant FAQ (Barry Rice)
Faʻamatalaga e masani ona fesiligia
Avanoa mo le Fa'atau
Ituaiga Fa'atatau
Tumau Fa'afou ile Common Swamp Pitcher Plant
Fa'asoa e maua fautuaga tau tausiga, ta'iala tuputupu a'e, ma fa'afouga fa'apitoa i Common Swamp Pitcher Plant ma isi laau toto.