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New giant Nepenthes species - Nepenthes palawanensis


stewart

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Dear members of the CPUK forum,

I am currently in the Philippines and just returned from two spectacular peaks in Palawan.

On the summits of these mountains, I encountered two new Nepenthes species.

Here is the first - a truly spectacular plant and one of the biggest in the genus.

I found this plant growing atop of a remote mountain - Sultan's Peak - near Mount Victoria where N. attenboroughii grows.

This plant - which will be called Nepenthes palawanensis ined., is even larger than Nepenthes attenboroughii and really gives N. rajah a run for its money.

I have posted a video clip of me putting my entire hand inside one of the giant pitchers on my website N. palawanensis video

I spent the last week organising permits to legally collect a herbarium specimen to desposit at Palawan State University. This magnificent new species will be formally described in my next books, Carnivorous Plants and their Habitats. The description will be in the appendix in vol. 2 of the work.

Acquiring all of the permits, permission and authorization was difficult, but it is a joint effort working with many botanists from the Philippines, and as with N. attenboroughii, all of the specimens will stay in the Philippines for local botanists to study, which is really important. This find really shows what magnificent flora there is on Palawan, and the need for conservation efforts.

In other news, I was really glad to hear that the recent media interest in N. attenboroughii has led to the protection of the Victoria Range. even though the newspapers exaggerated the plant quite a bit, this led to the entire mountain complex being given local protected states, and a Nickel mine was closed and stopped from destroying the lower slopes of the mountain. Which is GREAT. Hopefully the same can happen for Nepenthes palawanensis ined. and its home, the Sultan range. I am working hard with friends in Palawan to try and pull together a UN World Heritage status proposal.

Anyway, here are some photos of Nepenthes palawanensis ined., and also N. attenboroughii to compare. The two plants are extremely closely related, but there are significant, tangible and consistent morphological differences in the leaf structure, flower structure, pitcher morphology and size, amongst many other differences. Also the exterior of the pitcher of N. palawanensis is lined with short, brown hairs.

Here is the first -

Nepenthespalawanensis5.jpg

Nepenthes palawanensis ined.

Nepenthespalawanensis4.jpg

Nepenthes palawanensis ined.

Nepenthespalawanensis3.jpg

Nepenthes palawanensis ined.

Nepenthespalawanensis2.jpg

Nepenthes palawanensis ined.

Nepenthespalawanensis1.jpg

Nepenthes palawanensis ined.

Also a video N. palawanensis video

And to compare

Nepenthesattenboroughii3.jpg

Nepenthes attenboroughii

Nepenthesattenboroughii2.jpg

Nepenthes attenboroughii

Nepenthesattenboroughii1.jpg

Nepenthes attenboroughii

Hope you like the pics!

Stew

www.redfernnaturalhistory.com

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In other news, I was really glad to hear that the recent media interest in N. attenboroughii has led to the protection of the Victoria Range. even though the newspapers exaggerated the plant quite a bit, this led to the entire mountain complex being given local protected states, and a Nickel mine was closed and stopped from destroying the lower slopes of the mountain. Which is GREAT.

This really is great news.

Along with other things happening elsewhere, it looks like Nep conservation is finally starting to get somewhere :lol:

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Oh my dear god!! Beautiful pictures Stew. Thanks soo much for the video.

And truly great news for nepenthes. Clearly this genus of plants have once again captured human attention and that is responsible for the protection of all of Mt. Victoria's flora and fauna. Fantastic news indeed. May these species and peaks stay as they are without human intervention forever.

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What a beautiful find! The pitcher looks almost intermediate between N. mira/deaniana, and N. attenboroughii. I am looking forward to hearing more about this fascinating species. Thanks for the info and photos/video.

Regards,

Christer

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Perhaps Attenboroughii was-R Bit 'Premature' ... and This-one Should-be Named-after Edward-Teller: "Father-of-The-Hydrogen-Bomb"!!!??? >(*~*)< / >(*U^)<

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  • 2 weeks later...

HI Stewart ~ gorgeous pitchers ~~~ Looking forward for your new books ~ Your nepenthes books are so eye catching and informative ~~

May I know what altitude is these 2 species located ??

Sincerely, Avery

Edited by avery
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  • 4 months later...

Hello,

This species has been formerly described and the description will be published in Stewart McPherson new books. These will be available in the following days.

"Nepenthes palawanensis (Nepenthenceae), a new pitcher plant species from Sultan Peak, Palawan Island, Philipines. 2010. McPherson S., J. Cervancia, C. Lee, M. Jauzems, A. Fleischmann, F. Mey, E. Gironella, A. Robinson. In: S.R. McPherson. Carnivorous Plants in their Habitats. Redfern Natural History Productions Ltd., Poole (Appendix).

All the best,

François.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Dear members of the CPUK forum,

I am currently in the Philippines and just returned from two spectacular peaks in Palawan.

On the summits of these mountains, I encountered two new Nepenthes species.

Here is the first - a truly spectacular plant and one of the biggest in the genus.

I found this plant growing atop of a remote mountain - Sultan's Peak - near Mount Victoria where N. attenboroughii grows.

This plant - which will be called Nepenthes palawanensis ined., is even larger than Nepenthes attenboroughii and really gives N. rajah a run for its money.

I have posted a video clip of me putting my entire hand inside one of the giant pitchers on my website N. palawanensis video

I spent the last week organising permits to legally collect a herbarium specimen to desposit at Palawan State University. This magnificent new species will be formally described in my next books, Carnivorous Plants and their Habitats. The description will be in the appendix in vol. 2 of the work.

Acquiring all of the permits, permission and authorization was difficult, but it is a joint effort working with many botanists from the Philippines, and as with N. attenboroughii, all of the specimens will stay in the Philippines for local botanists to study, which is really important. This find really shows what magnificent flora there is on Palawan, and the need for conservation efforts.

In other news, I was really glad to hear that the recent media interest in N. attenboroughii has led to the protection of the Victoria Range. even though the newspapers exaggerated the plant quite a bit, this led to the entire mountain complex being given local protected states, and a Nickel mine was closed and stopped from destroying the lower slopes of the mountain. Which is GREAT. Hopefully the same can happen for Nepenthes palawanensis ined. and its home, the Sultan range. I am working hard with friends in Palawan to try and pull together a UN World Heritage status proposal.

Anyway, here are some photos of Nepenthes palawanensis ined., and also N. attenboroughii to compare. The two plants are extremely closely related, but there are significant, tangible and consistent morphological differences in the leaf structure, flower structure, pitcher morphology and size, amongst many other differences. Also the exterior of the pitcher of N. palawanensis is lined with short, brown hairs.

Here is the first -

Nepenthespalawanensis5.jpg

Nepenthes palawanensis ined.

Nepenthespalawanensis4.jpg

Nepenthes palawanensis ined.

Nepenthespalawanensis3.jpg

Nepenthes palawanensis ined.

Nepenthespalawanensis2.jpg

Nepenthes palawanensis ined.

Nepenthespalawanensis1.jpg

Nepenthes palawanensis ined.

Also a video N. palawanensis video

And to compare

Nepenthesattenboroughii3.jpg

Nepenthes attenboroughii

Nepenthesattenboroughii2.jpg

Nepenthes attenboroughii

Nepenthesattenboroughii1.jpg

Nepenthes attenboroughii

Hope you like the pics!

Stew

www.redfernnaturalhistory.com

I want to personally thank you for pursuing a passion for preserving these beautiful but fragile ecosystem in my country of origin Filipinas(Philippines).....I just hope more and more people would open their minds and hearts as to how fragile and in desperate need of preservation these last remaining wildernesses are. I just wish I was there to witness that magnificent new nepenthes....Salamat(thanks in tagalog)

DexFC(dchasselblad74)

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