I have been growing the 'hairy hamata' since 2005 when I got them at a very small size
I was hooked by the gorgeous photos by Chi'en - surely this is the ultimate carnivorous plant with hair and teeth
Now, 6 years later, with my largest plant flowering and with an upper I thought it would be interesting to review the considerable differences between it and the 'normal' type - under my conditions at least
Most strikingly, it is massively smaller. I think I can say that with confidence now it shows all the signs of maturity. The pitchers never got more than a few inches high and it is a slow grower, especially when young
In stark contrast to it's big brother a few feet away
The lower pitchers are tubby, not elongated
It abandoned a rosette and vined early, with a thin climbing stem
The upper pitchers (assuming mine is not intermediate or atypical anyway) have not developed the characteristic teeth of the normal form uppers, but have retained red colouration
'Hairy'
'Normal'
Leaf attachments
Hairy type
Normal Type
Spur and Lid
Hairy Type
Normal Type
The flowers of my two plants are not the same sex, so I can't compare directly, but I include them for interest
'Normal'
'Hairy'
Now, I'm no taxonomist - but can we really consider this to be the same species, without even so much as varietal status?