Nepenthes rowaniae

Nepenthes rowaniae (/nɪˈpɛnθz ˈrən/; after Ellis Rowan, Australian naturalist and illustrator) is a species of pitcher plant endemic to the Cape York Peninsula, Australia. It is closely related to N. mirabilis and was once considered an extreme form of this species.[2][3]

Nepenthes rowaniae
A juvenile N. rowaniae plant
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Nepenthaceae
Genus: Nepenthes
Species:
N. rowaniae
Binomial name
Nepenthes rowaniae
F.M.Bailey (1897)
Synonyms
  • Nepenthes mirabilis
    auct. non (Lour.) Rafarin: Danser (1928) [=N. mirabilis/N. rowaniae]
  • Nepenthes rowanae
    F.M.Bailey (1897)
    [original spelling]

Taxonomy

Bailey's original illustration of an N. rowaniae pitcher, published in 1897

Between 1881 and 1905, Frederick Manson Bailey described 11 species of Nepenthes from northern Australia,[4] all of which were placed in synonymy with N. mirabilis by B. H. Danser in 1928.[5] The only taxon which Danser considered to possess morphological characters atypical of N. mirabilis was N. rowaniae. He wrote:[5]

"Of all these I have seen the type or at least authentic specimens, but they are nearly all mere growth forms of N. mirabilis. Only N. rowanae shows a character not yet met with in N. mirabilis, viz. campanulate-infundibuliform upper pitchers. A similar aberration, however, is often met with in several allied species and is certainly insufficient for specific distinction."

However, field observations carried out between 2001 and 2003 "showed that N. rowanae possesses several stable, significant morphological and ecological characteristics that are not exhibited by N. mirabilis", and the taxon was subsequently elevated to a species in 2005.[2] This opinion is not universally shared; taxonomist Jan Schlauer continues to treat N. rowaniae as a heterotypic synonym of N. mirabilis in his Carnivorous Plant Database.[6]

Differences between N. mirabilis and N. rowaniae (Clarke & Kruger, 2005)
CharacterN. mirabilisN. rowaniae
Morphology of leaf bladeAcute to roundedContracted towards the apex, then continuing along the tendril as a narrow, acute, extension
Insertion of tendril to leaf bladeSimplePeltate
Pitcher wingsSimple, bearing multicellular fringe elementsOften flattened at front, forming a T-shape in XS, multicellular fringe elements often present
Leaf blade textureUsually chartaceousStrongly coriaceous
Leaf blade attachment to stemSimple, or rarely decurrent for ⅓ the length of the internodeDecurrent for at least ½ the length of the internode, usually more
Gland density in lower portion of pitcher1600-2500 / cm²Approximately 3600 / cm²
Position of pitcher hip in upper pitchersMid-way, to lower halfUpper quarter
Position of pitcher hip in lower pitchersLower third to quarterImmediately beneath peristome

Spelling

According to the ICBN, the correct spelling of this taxon's name is Nepenthes rowaniae, as the epithet is based on the personal name Rowan.[7][8] There is only one correct way to form this epithet (in the genitive: Rec 60C.1.b.) and the resulting correct spelling is mandatory; any usage of the spelling rowanae is to be corrected to rowaniae (Art 60.11).[9] However, the literature tends to use Nepenthes rowanae, instead.[2][10][11]

Natural hybrids

References

  1. Clarke, C.M.; Wilson, G. (2014). "Nepenthes rowaniae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T49003607A49009940. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T49003607A49009940.en.
  2. Clarke, C.M. & R. Kruger 2005. Nepenthes rowanae (Nepenthaceae), a remarkable species from Cape York, Australia. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 34(2): 36-41.
  3. Lowrie, A. 2013. Nepenthes rowaniae F.M.Bailey. In: Carnivorous Plants of Australia Magnum Opus - Volume Three. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 906–909.
  4. Bailey, F.M. 1897. Contributions to the Flora of Queensland. Queensland Agricultural Journal 1: 231.
  5. Danser, B.H. 1928. The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg, Série III, 9(3-4): 249-438.
  6. Schlauer, J. N.d. Nepenthes rowanae. Carnivorous Plant Database.
  7. Spelling correction
  8. Robinson, A. 2013. A Note about Orthographically Corrected Names. In: A. Lowrie Carnivorous Plants of Australia Magnum Opus - Volume Three. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 1298–1299.
  9. International Code of Botanical Nomenclature: Chapter VII, Section I, Article 60
  10. McPherson, S.R. 2009. Pitcher Plants of the Old World. 2 volumes. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
  11. Bourke, G. & R. Nunn 2012. Nepenthes. In: Australian Carnivorous Plants. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 148–167.

Further reading

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