Nepenthes kurata

Nepenthes kurata
Botanical illustration of N. kurata from Cheek and Jebb's type description
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Core eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Nepenthaceae
Genus: Nepenthes
Species: N. kurata
Binomial name
Nepenthes kurata
Jebb & Cheek (2013)[1]
Synonyms[1]

Nepenthes kurata is a tropical pitcher plant native to the Philippines. It is known only from Mount Malindang in Misamis Occidental Province, Mindanao, where it has been recorded at c. 1400 m altitude. It is the most westerly known Nepenthes species in Mindanao.[1]

Nepenthes kurata was described as a variety of N. alataN. alata var. ecristata—in John Muirhead Macfarlane's 1908 monograph, "Nepenthaceae".[1][2]

This species belongs to the informal "N. alata group", which also includes N. alata, N. ceciliae, N. copelandii, N. extincta, N. graciliflora, N. hamiguitanensis, N. kitanglad, N. leyte, N. mindanaoensis, N. negros, N. ramos, N. saranganiensis, and N. ultra.[1][3][4][5] 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.[1][3]

The specific epithet kurata honours botanist Shigeo Kurata, best known for his 1976 book, Nepenthes of Mount Kinabalu.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Cheek, M. & M. Jebb 2013. Recircumscription of the Nepenthes alata group (Caryophyllales: Nepenthaceae), in the Philippines, with four new species. European Journal of Taxonomy 69: 1–23. doi:10.5852/ejt.2013.69
  2. 2.0 2.1 Macfarlane, J.M. 1908. Nepenthaceae. In: A. Engler. Das Pflanzenreich IV, III, Heft 36: 1–91.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Cheek, M. & M. Jebb 2013. Typification and redelimitation of Nepenthes alata with notes on the N. alata group, and N. negros sp. nov. from the Philippines. Nordic Journal of Botany 31(5): 616–622. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.2012.00099.x
  4. Cheek, M. & M. Jebb 2013. Nepenthes ramos (Nepenthaceae), a new species from Mindanao, Philippines. Willdenowia 43(1): 107–111. doi:10.3372/wi.43.43112
  5. Cheek, M. & M. Jebb 2013. Nepenthes ultra (Nepenthaceae), a new species from Luzon, Philippines. Blumea, published online on October 24, 2013. doi:10.3767/000651913X675124