Nepenthes gracilis
Nepenthes gracilis ( /nɨˈpɛnθiːz ˈɡræsɨlɪs/; from Latin: gracilis "slender"), or the Slender Pitcher-Plant,[2] is a very common lowland pitcher plant that is widespread in the Sunda region. It has been recorded from Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, central Sulawesi, Sumatra, and southernmost Thailand.[3] The species has a wide altitudinal distribution of 0–1700 m above sea level, although most populations are found below 100 m and plants are rare above 1000 m.[4]
The pitchers of N. gracilis are relatively unremarkable with a very thin peristome and no unusual morphological features. Despite being a widespread plant, natural hybrids between N. gracilis and other species are quite rare.
Nepenthes gracilis was formally described by Pieter Willem Korthals in his 1839 monograph, "Over het geslacht Nepenthes".[5]
Taxonomy
In 2001, Charles Clarke performed a cladistic analysis of the Nepenthes species of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia using 70 morphological characteristics of each taxon. The following is a portion of the resultant cladogram, showing part of "Clade 6". The sister pair of N. angasanensis and N. mikei has 79% support.[6]
Infraspecific taxa
Despite varying little across its range,[6] N. gracilis has a number of infraspecific taxa. Most of these are no longer considered valid.
- Nepenthes gracilis f. angustifolia (Mast.) Hort.Westphal (1993)
- Nepenthes gracilis var. angustifolia (Mast.) Hort.Weiner in sched. (1985)
- Nepenthes gracilis var. arenaria Ridl. ex Macf. (1908)
- Nepenthes gracilis var. elongata Bl. (1852)
- Nepenthes gracilis var. longinodis G.Beck (1895)[1]
- Nepenthes gracilis var. major Hort.Lindsay ex Dixon (1889)
- Nepenthes gracilis var. teysmanniana (Miq.) Beck (1895)[1]
Natural hybrids
The following natural hybrids involving N. gracilis have been recorded.
References
- ^ a b c (German) Beck, G. 1895. Die Gattung Nepenthes. Wiener Illustrirte Garten-Zeitung 20(3–6): 96–107, 141–150, 182–192, 217–229.
- ^ Phillipps, A. & A. Lamb 1996. Pitcher-Plants of Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.
- ^ a b c d McPherson, S.R. 2009. Pitcher Plants of the Old World. 2 volumes. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
- ^ Adam, J.H., C.C. Wilcock & M.D. Swaine 1992. The ecology and distribution of Bornean Nepenthes.PDF Journal of Tropical Forest Science 5(1): 13–25.
- ^ Korthals, P.W. 1839. Over het geslacht Nepenthes. In: C.J. Temminck 1839–1842. Verhandelingen over de Natuurlijke Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche overzeesche bezittingen; Kruidkunde. Leiden. pp. 1–44, t. 1–4, 13–15, 20–22.
- ^ a b c Clarke, C.M. 2001. Nepenthes of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.
- ^ a b c d Clarke, C.M. 1997. Nepenthes of Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.
- ^ Lee, C.C. 2004. Nepenthes. In: Sarawak Bau Limestone Biodiversity. H.S. Yong, F.S.P. Ng and E.E.L. Yen (eds). The Sarawak Museum Journal Vol. LIX, No. 80; Special Issue No. 6: 71–77.
- ^ Tan, W.K., C.L. Wong & C.K. Frazier 1996. Nepenthes × (rafflesiana and gracilis)? Nature Malaysiana 21: 82–85.
Further reading
- Adam, J.H. 1997. Prey spectra of Bornean Nepenthes species (Nepenthaceae) in relation to their habitat.PDF Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science 20(2–3): 121–134.
- Adam, J.H. & C.C. Wilcock 1999. Palynological study of Bornean Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae).PDF Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science 22(1): 1–7.
- Adam, J. H., R. Omar & C. C. Wilcock 2002. Phytochemical Screening of Flavonoids in Three Hybrids of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae) and their Putative Parental Species from Sarawak and Sabah.PDF OnLine Journal of Biological Sciences 2(9): 623–625. doi:10.3923/jbs.2002.623.625
- Adam, J.H., E.M. Nurulhuda, H. Abdul-Halim, O. Abdul-Rahim, A.H. Hafiza, G.K. Gopir, L.M. Pilik, R. Omar, M.B. Qasim, J. Salimon, S. Abdul-Rahim & M.M. Hanafiah 2005. Pitcher plants recorded from BRIS forest in Jambu Bongkok, Kuala Trengganu, Malaysia. Wetland Science 3(3): 183–189.
- (Malay) Adam, J.H., J.N. Maisarah, A.T.S. Norhafizah, A.H. Hafiza, M.Y. Harun & O.A. Rahim et al. 2009. Ciri Tanih Pada Habitat Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae) di Padang Tujuh, Taman Negeri Endau-Rompin Pahang. [Soil Properties in Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae) Habitat at Padang Tujuh, Endau-Rompin State Park, Pahang.] In: J.H. Adam, G.M. Barzani & S. Zaini (eds.) Bio-Kejuruteraan and Kelestarian Ekosistem. [Bio-Engineering and Sustainable Ecosystem.] Kumpulan Penyelidikan Kesihatan Persekitaran, Pusat Penyelidikan Bukit Fraser and Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia. pp. 147–157.
- Adam, J.H., H.A. Hamid, M.A.A. Juhari, S.N.A. Tarmizi & W.M.R. Idris 2011. Species composition and dispersion pattern of pitcher plants recorded from Rantau Abang in Marang District, Terengganu State of Malaysia. International Journal of Botany 7(2): 162–169. doi:10.3923/ijb.2011.162.169
- Athauda, S.B.P., K. Matsumoto, S. Rajapakshe, M. Kuribayashi, M. Kojima, N. Kubomura-Yoshida, A. Iwamatsu, C. Shibata, H. Inoue & K. Takahashi 2004. Enzymatic and structural characterization of nepenthesin, a unique member of a novel subfamily of aspartic proteinases.PDF (1.32 MiB) (manuscript BJ20031575) Biochemical Journal 381(1): 295–306. doi:10.1042/BJ20031575
- Aung, H.H., L.S. Chia, N.K. Goh, T.F. Chia, A.A. Ahmed, P.W. Pare & T.J. Mabry 2002. Phenolic constituents from the leaves of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes gracilis. Fitoterapia 73(5): 445–447. PubMed doi:10.1016/S0367-326X(02)00113-2
- Beaman, J.H. & C. Anderson 2004. The Plants of Mount Kinabalu: 5. Dicotyledon Families Magnoliaceae to Winteraceae. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.
- Bonhomme, V., H. Pelloux-Prayer, E. Jousselin, Y. Forterre, J.-J. Labat & L. Gaume 2011. Slippery or sticky? Functional diversity in the trapping strategy of Nepenthes carnivorous plants. New Phytologist 191(2): 545–554. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03696.x
- Clarke, C.M., R. Cantley, J. Nerz, H. Rischer & A. Witsuba (2000). Nepenthes gracilis. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 10 May 2006.
- Fan, D.-H., H. Wang, D. Zhi & Y.-M. Shen 2010. CE analysis of endogenous flavonoid gallate esters from Nepenthes gracilis (Nepenthaceae). Chromatographia 72(9–10): 1013–1016. doi:10.1365/s10337-010-1729-0
- Fashing, N.J. 2010. Two novel adaptations for dispersal in the mite family Histiostomatidae (Astigmata).PDF In: M.W. Sabelis & J. Bruin (eds.) Trends in Acarology: Proceedings of the 12th International Congress. Springer Science, Dordrecht. pp. 81–84. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-9837-5
- (Indonesian) Handayani, T. 1999. Konservasi Nepenthes di kebun raya Indonesia.PDF [Conservation of Nepenthes in Indonesian botanic gardens.] In: A. Mardiastuti, I. Sudirman, K.G. Wiryawan, L.I. Sudirman, M.P. Tampubolon, R. Megia & Y. Lestari (eds.) Prosiding II: Seminar Hasil-Hasil Penelitian Bidang Ilmu Hayat. Pusat Antar Universitas Ilmu Hayat IPB, Bogor. pp. 365–372.
- (Indonesian) Harahap, A.S. 2010. Mikropropogasi tunas kantong semar (Nepenthes gracillis Korth.) dengan pemberian NAA dan BAP secara in vitro. Student paper, University of North Sumatra, Medan.
- Hernawati & P. Akhriadi 2006. A Field Guide to the Nepenthes of Sumatra. PILI-NGO Movement, Bogor.
- Kato, M. 1993. Floral biology of Nepenthes gracilis (Nepenthaceae) in Sumatra. American Journal of Botany 80(8): 924–927. doi:10.2307/2445512
- Lam, S.Y. 1982. Tripteroides aranoides (Theobald) in two pitcher plants, Nepenthes ampullaria Jack and N. gracilis Korth., at Kent Ridge (Diptera: Culicidae). B.Sc (Hons.) Thesis, National University of Singapore.
- Lim, A.L. & N. Prakash 1973. Life history of Nepenthes gracilis. Malaysian Journal of Science 2(A): 45–53.
- Ma Hnin Hnin Aung 2004. Phenolic compounds from Nepenthes gracilis Korth: isolation, identification and antioxidant studies. Ph.D. thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
- (Indonesian) Mansur, M. 2001. Koleksi Nepenthes di Herbarium Bogoriense: prospeknya sebagai tanaman hias.PDF In: Prosiding Seminar Hari Cinta Puspa dan Satwa Nasional. Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, Bogor. pp. 244–253.
- Mogi, M. & K.L. Chan 1997. Variation in communities of dipterans in Nepenthes pitchers in Singapore: Predators increase prey community diversity. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 90(2): 177–183.
- Mokkamul, P., A. Chaveerach, R. Sudmoon & T. Tanee 2007. Species Identification and Sex Determination of the Genus Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae). Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences 10(4): 561–567. doi:10.3923/pjbs.2007.561.567
- Moran, J.A., W.E. Booth & J.K. Charles 1999. Aspects of Pitcher Morphology and Spectral Characteristics of Six Bornean Nepenthes Pitcher Plant Species: Implications for Prey Capture.PDF Annals of Botany 83: 521–528.
- Normawati, Y. 2002. The effect of stem length on pitcher and inflorescence production in Nepenthes gracilis and Nepenthes mirabilis at Serendah Selangor. B.Sc. Thesis. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
- (Indonesian) Puspitaningtyas, D.M. & H. Wawangningrum 2007. Keanekaragaman Nepenthes di Suaka Alam Sulasih Talang - Sumatera Barat.PDF [Nepenthes diversity in Sulasih Talang Nature Reserve - West Sumatra.] Biodiversitas 8(2): 152–156.
- (Malay) Rahim, S.A., T. Lihan, M. Baba, A. Laming, Z.A. Rahman, W.M.R. Idris, M.B. Gasim, A. Hashim, S.M. Yusof & L.H. Yin 2008. Pengambilan logam berat oleh Nepenthes gracilis dan N. Hookeriana dalam tanih bekas lombong besi dan timah, Pelepah Kanan, Kota Tinggi, Johor. [Heavy metal uptake by Nepenthes gracilis and N. Hookeriana in ex-iron and tin mine soil, Pelepah Kanan, Kota Tinggi, Johor.] Sains Malaysiana 37(1): 39–49. Abstract
- Russell, C. & E. Ossian 1990. Opportunistic feeding involving the pitcher plants Nepenthes hirsuta, Nepenthes gracilis and the epiphytic orchid Schomburgkia tibicinis, or natural ant eradication, the rube goldberg method. The Orchid Digest 54(4): 182–184.
- Shivas, R.G. 1984. Pitcher Plants of Peninsular Malaysia & Singapore. Maruzen Asia, Kuala Lumpur.
- Siegara, A. & Yogiara 2009. Bacterial community profiles in the fluid of four pitcher plant species (Nepenthes spp.) grown in a nursery. Microbiology Indonesia 3(3): 109–114.
- Takahashi, K., S.B.P. Athauda, K. Matsumoto, S. Rajapakshe, M. Kuribayashi, M. Kojima, N. Kubomura-Yoshida, A. Iwamatsu, C. Shibata & H. Inoue 2005. Nepenthesin, a unique member of a novel subfamily of aspartic proteinases: enzymatic and structural characteristics. Current Protein and Peptide Science 6(6): 513–525. doi:10.2174/138920305774933259
- Tan, S. 2006. Development of capillary electrophoresis techniques for plant natural products analyses. M.Sc. thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
- Teo, L.L. 2001. Study of natural hybridisation in some tropical plants using amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis. M.Sc. thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
- Thorogood, C. 2010. The Malaysian Nepenthes: Evolutionary and Taxonomic Perspectives. Nova Science Publishers, New York.
- (Czech) Toufar, P. 1996. Ještě jednou k Nepenthes gracilis. Trifid 1996(2): 6–7. (page 2)
