Plantsnap – Identify Plants, Trees, Mushrooms With An App

Tropical pitcher plant (Nepenthes graciliflora)

Description

Nepenthes graciliflora is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines. Long considered a synonym of N. alata, it was restored as a separate species in 2013 by Martin Cheek and Matthew Jebb. It has been recorded from the islands of Bohol, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Panay, Samar, and Sibuyan, and following the redelimitation of N. alata is the most widespread Nepenthes species of the Philippines. It is known from mossy, submontane forest, generally at 800–1280 m altitude, though the type specimen from Sibuyan was collected at only 300 m. Nepenthes graciliflora belongs to the informal "N. alata group", which also includes N. alata, N. ceciliae, N. copelandii, N. extincta, N. hamiguitanensis, N. kitanglad, N. kurata, N. leyte, N. mindanaoensis, N. negros, N. ramos, N. saranganiensis, and N. ultra. These species are united by a number of morphological characters, including winged petioles, lids with basal ridges on the lower surface (often elaborated into appendages), and upper pitchers that are usually broadest near the base.

Taxonomic tree

  • Domain: Eukarya

    • Kingdom: Plantae

      • Phylum:

        • Class:

          • Order: Caryophyllales

            • Family: Nepenthaceae

              • Genus: Caryophyllales