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Post by Sockhom on Aug 4, 2007 12:16:53 GMT
Hello  . Well, i would like to share some informations - pictures and comments - about this nice species. (First see the link here: www.cpukforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=187795#187795)It's a shame Indochina Nepenthes are ignored by most of the taxonomists and i hope by posting such pictures, interest will raise among growers, hobbyists and why not ...taxonomists? Cambodia is a wounded country as, i hope, most of you know. The kingdom is filled with landmines and this was my sole anxiety. I had to talk MUCH with locals and authorities before wandering in some areas. Fortunately, i speak the language. After visiting many places ( i missed the most interesting, though), i stumbled across an interesting location at 900-1100 m). Here is the road. This is a national park and i was surrounded by jungle (where tigers and pythons live ;D ).   Day temperature are warm (20-22°C) . After my journey in lowland Phnom Penh, it was a relief! The humidity level was very high. The open habitat mostly include ferns, bushes, sandy bogs and large flat stones.   After a few hours of trekking amond the Dicranopteris linearis -the resam fern-, my joy was immense to find my first highland / intermediate Nepenthes. I thought it was Nepenthes smilesii but it is definitely not. No, it is not a machette in my bag :lol: .  Here are some pictures of the aerial pitchers:    For those who like taxonomy (like me ), you will find in the following pictures some details of the pitchers: - Lid:  -Peristome:   - under the lid. A very colorful spot with lots of glands, mainly located in the center:  Ants love this orange place. I found plenty of them in the digestive fluid. They seem to be the main preys of those pitcher plants.  I managed to find some racemes:  and some seed pods:  |
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Post by Sockhom on Aug 4, 2007 12:18:19 GMT
Lower pitchers were hard to find, sometimes embedded in moss or in the surrouding vegetation: I had to shout on snakes, spiders and centipedes before handling those crimson things! ;D   This a lower-intermediate picther. The peristome is not fully folded yet. You can compare it with the upper.  I found many young plants. It was not always easy to not walk on them! As you see, this plant is close to the plants spread in collections as "thorelii". (Note: most of the Nepenthes thorelii in culture turn out to be Nepenthes smilesii. For more informations, see Marcello Catalano site: www.nepenthesofthailand.com/).   A mature lower shot with the underneath of the impressive lid:   Lastly, some shots of the whole plants: some were climbing as high as 7/8 metres others were scramblers and grow on rocks!       Of course, it was a truly intense experience. But still quite pale in comparison to my encounter with the khmer culture... I hope you liked this field report  Friendly, François Mey. |
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Post by fischermans on Aug 4, 2007 12:39:49 GMT
Hello François Picture 6 looks a bit like a Nepenthes i have under the name N.thorelii. 1  Regards Alexander |
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Clint
Full Member
Posts: 808
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Post by Clint on Aug 4, 2007 14:05:28 GMT
Interesting! The seventh picture of an upper is fantastic!
I'm not sure if I'd call it a new species... maybe and maybe not. Whatever it is decided to be, it's a wonderful discovery!
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Post by pinglover on Aug 13, 2007 5:14:00 GMT
I'm very curious to learn what you have there.
I must compliment you on your photo journalism. I particularly enjoyed the photo with the ants.
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Post by Dave Evans on Aug 13, 2007 21:38:55 GMT
Hello François, Wow, you have taken some really nice photographs of this species. I received this same plant from Henning Von Schmeling about one year ago. My friend Thomas and I went down to Henning's when he was liquidating his collection and when I saw this plant, I asked him what is was. He said it came with the name "N. thorelii". After looking at the expanded peristome and vaulted lid, I replied, "No way is that N. thorelii." He said, "Well that is the name it came with... And I'm no taxonomist." I asked about location data, but there was none other than it is from Cambodia, or there about's. I purchased the plant, as I knew was probably another new species from Indochina  This plant has been distributed under the name "N. thorelii" for at least several years and can probably be found by that name in many collections...  To me, it seem like it has more in common with N. anamensis, than with N. thorelii. Infact, it looks like it could be a robust variety of N. anamensis. Did you see any other Nepenthes? |
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Post by Sockhom on Aug 14, 2007 17:18:37 GMT
Thanks for the kind words Dave and all ! I'm sure this is a new taxon. I'm currently working on it and will soon visit some herbariums. Anamensis seems likely to be a synonym of smilesii and this plant is not anamensis / smilesii. Pardon me if i sound peremptory but i took more than 350 pictures of all the plant's parts, checked maybe 200 specimens during more than 12 hours and am currently studying the descriptions of thorelii, anamensis/ smilesii, mirabilis and some deleted species too. I hope to give more infos in the near future. Thank you for you reading! Friendly, François. PS: I have a Nepenthes mirabilis field report coming ! |
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Clint
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Post by Clint on Aug 14, 2007 17:27:55 GMT
We can't wait!
For some reason, this plant's uppers makes me think of a giant N. klossii. Sort of. Anyone else see the resemblance? Not to say there's a connection.
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Post by Sockhom on Aug 14, 2007 23:40:33 GMT
Hello Clint (i think it's your name, right?) ! It is so strange you mention that. I exactly shared the same thought when i took the following pictures:   Incredible, eh? Friendly, François. |
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Clint
Full Member
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Post by Clint on Aug 14, 2007 23:48:13 GMT
Yep, full name is Clinton Spencer Poss Parsons. Pretty long lol.
Those pictures.... wowie wee wow! If you're ever responsible for getting this plant to the masses, you'll be my own personal hero. Then the next logical step is to cross it with N. aristolochioides. Talk about a beautiful plant that's hypothetically easy to grow and tolerant!!! I think I'm about to pass out from the excitement!
This is on my top ten list of favorite plants! Thank you for these pictures, François!
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Post by Michael Catalani on Aug 15, 2007 0:55:47 GMT
Very nice report and photos Francois. That last photo shows some doming in the pitchers. Very well done!
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Post by Sockhom on Aug 15, 2007 15:00:13 GMT
Thanks for the kind words, Michael.
It's great to hear from you: i've learn a lot from your site when i began to grow Nepenthes.
Friendly,
François.
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Post by Dave Evans on Aug 16, 2007 0:46:08 GMT
Hello François, Well, it does look rather different from other N. anamensis, but it does look more like N. anamensis than it does N. thorelii... Infact, it has several things in common with N. anamensis, including growth habit. checkout: www.rci.rutgers.edu/~dpevans/Nepenthes/N_anamensis.htmBTW, D. peltata also grows with N. anamensis on Phu Kra Dung, Cambodia, so I would imagine this species of Nepenthes also has tuberous roots. |
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Post by Sockhom on Aug 16, 2007 6:28:42 GMT
Thanks for the info Dave . You meant Phu Kra Dung in Thailand, doesn't you? By the way, by stating that the cambodian plant is close to thorelii, i meant the plant known as " thorelii " in culture. It is true that those very plants do not fit well with the original description of thorelii provided by Lecomte. Do you have other pictures of " anamensis" with Drosera peltata other than the one taken by Don Pirot (proposed in your link)? Thanks in advance. Friendly, François. |
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wadave
Full Member
He don't know me vewy well do he?
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Post by wadave on Aug 16, 2007 8:22:12 GMT
Hi Francois,
Thanks for sharing those great photos with all of us, good luck with it being accepted as a new species.
It always gives me a bit of a thrill to see new species/ discoveries so I can only imagine what it must feel like to be the one to find it.
Kind regards,
Dave.
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