Attenborough's pitcher plant (Nepenthes attenboroughii)

Description

Nepenthes attenboroughii (/nɪˈpɛnθiːz ˌætənˈbʌriaɪ, -bəˈroʊɡiaɪ/), or Attenborough's pitcher plant, is a montane species of carnivorous pitcher plant of the genus Nepenthes. It is named after the celebrated broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough, who is a keen enthusiast of the genus. The species is characterised by its large and distinctive bell-shaped lower and upper pitchers and narrow, upright lid. The type specimen of N. attenboroughii was collected on the summit of Mount Victoria, an ultramafic mountain in central Palawan, the Philippines. In May 2010, the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University selected N. attenboroughii as one of the "top 10 new species described in 2009". The species appeared on the 2012 list of the world's 100 most threatened species compiled by the IUCN Species Survival Commission in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London. Nepenthes attenboroughii is a terrestrial upright or scrambling shrub. The stem, which may be up to 3.5 cm thick, is circular in cross section and attains a height of up to 1.5 m. The leaves are coriaceous and sessile or sub-petiolate. The leaves of rosettes are up to 30 cm long and 10 cm wide, whereas those of the scrambling stem are up to 40 cm long and 15 cm wide. The leaves are oblong to elliptic, obtuse at the apex and shortly attenuate at the base, clasping the stem by approximately two-thirds of its circumference and becoming decurrent for 2–3 cm. Nepenthes attenboroughii produces some of the largest pitchers in the genus, sometimes exceeding those of typical N. rajah in size, but is not known to have exceeded the size and volume records set by that species. The largest recorded pitcher of N. attenboroughii measured more than 1.5 litres in volume, and traps exceeding 2 litres are likely to be produced on occasion. The lower pitchers are brittle and campanulate (bell-shaped), up to 30 cm tall and 16 cm wide and emerge from tendrils that are 30–40 cm long and 4–9 mm in diameter. The tendrils are flattened towards the leaf, making them almost semi-circular in cross section. The upper pitchers are similar to the lower pitchers, but generally infundibular, to 25 cm tall and 12 cm wide. The pitchers show considerable variation in both shape and colouration, ranging from green or yellow to dark purple throughout. Nepenthes attenboroughii has a racemose inflorescence up to 80 cm long. The male flower spike bears approximately 100 pedicellate flowers on a rachis up to 45 cm long and is recorded to bifurcate on occasion. The flowers lack bracts and produce red tepals that are broadly ovate with an obtuse apex. The female inflorescence is shorter, to 65 cm long, never bifurcates, and bears up to 70 densely arranged flowers on a compact rachis up to 20 cm long. The tepals are brown to purple, ovate, and have an acute apex.