''Nepenthes ramos'' 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 ...

native to the northeastern

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is known from only a handful of

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

specimens collected in 1919 at an elevation of 670 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 ...

. It likely grows in the forest on

ultramafic Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are composed ...

soils. ''Nepenthes ramos'' 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. kurata'', '' N. leyte'', '' N. mindanaoensis'', '' N. negros'', '' N. saranganiensis'', and '' N. ultra''.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. Cheek, M. & M. Jebb (2013). ''Nepenthes ultra'' (Nepenthaceae), a new species from Luzon, Philippines. ''Blumea'', published online on October 24, 2013. 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. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''ramos'' honours Philippine botanical collector Maximo Ramos, who collected the

type material In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

with J. Pascasio. Plants matching the description of ''N. ramos'' have been observed in the Mindanao provinces of

Bukidnon Bukidnon(), officially the Province of Bukidnon ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bukidnon; fil, Lalawigan ng Bukidnon; hil, Kapuroan sang Bukidnon; Binukid and Higaonon: ''Probinsya ta Bukidnon''), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the ...

Davao Oriental Davao Oriental ( Cebuano: ''Sidlakang Dabaw''; tl, Silangang Davao), officially the Province of Davao Oriental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is city of Mati, and it borders the province o ...

, and Surigao, and on an "isolated mountain" on an undisclosed island around 120 km from the type locality.Gronemeyer, T. (2015)
''Nepenthes ramos'' located in the field
Carnivorous Plants in the tropics, 5 January 2015. Gronemeyer, T. (2014)
''Nepenthes ramos'' am Naturstandort
G.F.P. Forum, November 29, 2014. These discoveries suggest that ''N. ramos'' might be the most common member of the "''N. alata'' group" on the island of Mindanao.

''Nepenthes kurata''

''Nepenthes kurata'' was described in 2013 as a species known only from

Mount Malindang Mount Malindang is a complex volcano located in the province of Misamis Occidental in the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines. It is the highest point in the province. The least studied mountain range was formed through several volcanic act ...

in Misamis Occidental Province,

, where it was recorded at 1400 m altitude. This would make it one of the most westerly known ''Nepenthes'' species in Mindanao. (In 1995 '' N. mirabilis'' was found near Polanco, further to the west.) This taxon was previously described as a

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

of '' N. alata''—''N. alata'' var. ''ecristata''—in

John Muirhead Macfarlane John Muirhead Macfarlane FRSE LLD (28 September 1855, Kirkcaldy, Fife – 16 September 1943, Lancaster) was a Scottish botanist. Life He was born in Kirkcaldy in Fife on 28 September 1855. He was educated locally, then studied sciences at the ...

's 1908 monograph, " Nepenthaceae". The specific epithet ''kurata'' honours botanist

Shigeo Kurata is a Japanese botanist and '' Nepenthes'' taxonomist whose work in the 1960s and 1970s contributed much to the current popularity of these plants.Clarke, C.M. & C.C. Lee 2004. ''Pitcher Plants of Sarawak''. Natural History Publications (Borneo), ...

, best known for his 1976 book, ''

Nepenthes of Mount Kinabalu ''Nepenthes of Mount Kinabalu'' is a monograph by Shigeo Kurata on the tropical pitcher plants of Mount Kinabalu and the surrounding area of Kinabalu National Park in Sabah, Borneo. It was published in 1976 by Sabah National Parks Trustees as the ...

''. ''Nepenthes kurata'' was formally synonymised with ''N. ramos'' in 2016.

References

* Mey, F.S. (2013)
''Nepenthes alzapan'' and an army of new species from the Philippines
''Strange Fruits: A Garden's Chronicle'', July 15, 2013. * Micheler, M., T. Gronemeyer, A. Wistuba, D. Marwinski, W. Suarez & V. Amoroso (2013). ''Nepenthes viridis'', eine neue ''Nepenthes''-Art von der Insel Dinagat, Philippinen. ''

Das Taublatt ''Das Taublatt'' is a triannual German-language periodical based in Bochum and the official publication of Gesellschaft für fleischfressende Pflanzen im deutschsprachigen Raum, a carnivorous plant society based in Germany.Rice, B. 2010Carnivor ...

'' 76: 4–21. * Smith, L. (2014)
Pitcher perfect - but carnivorous plants are at risk
''The Independent'', January 5, 2014. {{Taxonbar, from=Q13809320 Carnivorous plants of Asia

ramos Ramos is a surname of Spanish and Portuguese origin that means "bouquets" or "branches". Notable people with the surname include: * Adrián Ramos (born 1986), Colombian footballer * Aldrech Ramos (born 1988), Filipino basketball player * Aleja ...

Plants described in 2013 Endemic flora of the Philippines Flora of Mindanao Taxa named by Martin Cheek Taxa named by Matthew Jebb