''Nepenthes holdenii'' is a tropical
pitcher plant
Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher p ...
from western
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, where it grows at elevations of 600–800 m
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
.
The species was originally known from only two peaks in the
Cardamom Mountains
The Cardamom Mountains ( km, ជួរភ្នំក្រវាញ, ; th, ทิวเขาบรรทัด, ), or the Krâvanh Mountains, is a mountain range in the south west of Cambodia and Eastern Thailand. The majority of the range ...
, but the discovery of a new population was reported in October 2011
.
Seeds were collected in 2014 and the species was successfully introduced into cultivation
.
Description
Leaves are coriaceous, subpetiolate, lamina linear to linear-lanceolate, 25-40 cm long, 3.5-6 cm wide, apex acute, clasping the stem by 1/2 of its circumference, decurrent on rosette and on climbing stem on 3-4 cm projecting from the stem as wings.
There are three longitudinal nerves (rarely 4) on each side of the midrib in the outer third of the leaf.
In the dry season, the leaves are modified into pitchers to capture and digest insects.
The pitchers can reach up to 30cm long.
In contrast to other closely related species, it has long tendrils and globose lower pitchers.
Habitat and Distribution
''Nepenthes holdenii'' occurs in localities situated in the transitional zone between lowland evergreen forest and low montane evergreen forest.
Etymology
It was previously collected and diagnosed by Lecomte in the 1909 as ''Nepenthes thorelii'', which is now considered an aggregate of Indochinese ''Nepenthes'' species.
It was photographed by biologist Jeremy Holden in 2006;
Mey used these photographs, ''in situ'' examination of closely related species, and the previously collected specimen to distinguish ''N. holdenii'' from ''N. thorelii''.
Closely Related Species
These species are considered to be part of the ''Nepenthes thorelii'' aggregate.
*''
N. andamana'' M. Catal. (2010)
*''
N. bokorensis'' Mey (2009)
*''
N. chang'' M. Catal. (2010)
*''
N. kampotiana'' Lecomte (1909)
*''
N. kerrii'' M. Catal. & T. Kruetr. (2010)
*''
N. smilesii'' Hemsley (1897)
*''
N. suratensis'' M. Catal. (2010)
*''
N. thorelii'' Lecomte (1909)
References
Further reading
* Guerini, M. 2011
2010: new species of Carnivorous Plants.Associazione Italiana Piante Carnivore.
* Holden, J. 2012
What’s in a name – the perils of naming new species Fauna & Flora International, February 3, 2012.
* Hruby, D. 2010
. ''The Phnom Penh Post'', November 15, 2010.
* Mey, F.S. 2010
Introduction to the pitcher plants (''Nepenthes'') of Cambodia.''Cambodian Journal of Natural History'' 2010(2): 106–117.
* Mey, F.S. 2010
''Strange Fruits: A Garden's Chronicle'', October 31, 2010.
* Mey, F.S. 2014
''Strange Fruits: A Garden's Chronicle'', February 3, 2014.
* Mey, F.S. 2014
''Strange Fruits: A Garden's Chronicle'', February 27, 2014.
Carnivorous plant found by Cambridge conservationists ''BBC News'', November 15, 2010.
External links
Carnivorous plants of Asia
holdenii
Plants described in 2010
Endemic flora of Cambodia
{{Nepenthes-stub