''Nepenthes insignis'' 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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and surrounding islands. The specific epithet ''insignis'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "distinguished" or "remarkable".

Botanical history

The first known collection of ''N. insignis'' was made by August Adriaan Pulle on November 9, 1912. The specimen, ''Pulle 277'', was collected in southwestern

at the " rder of the

Beaufort River The Beaufort River is a river in the South West of Western Australia. The river was named in 1835 by John Septimus Roe, Surveyor General of Western Australia, after a friend Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort who was Hydrographer of the Navy fr ...

" at an altitude of 80 m. It includes male floral material and is deposited at the

Bogor Botanical Gardens The Bogor Botanical Gardens ( id, Kebun Raya Bogor) is a botanical garden located in Bogor, Indonesia, 60 km south of central Jakarta. It is currently operated by Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Indonesian: ''Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Ind ...

(formerly the Herbarium of the Buitenzorg Botanic Gardens) in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

. It is also preserved in alcohol and is sheet 201110 at the

National Herbarium of the Netherlands National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

. ''Nepenthes insignis'' was collected again in September 1926, by Willem Marius Docters van Leeuwen. The specimens, ''Docters van Leeuwen 10258'' and ''10286'', were collected in northwestern New Guinea at the " rder of affluent C of the Rouffaer River" at an altitude of 250 m. They are also deposited at the Bogor Botanical Gardens, although they do not include floral material. B. H. Danser formally described ''N. insignis'' in his seminal monograph "

The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies "The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies" is a seminal monograph by B. H. Danser on the tropical pitcher plants of the Dutch East Indies and surrounding regions. It was originally published in the ''Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg ...

", published in 1928. The description was based solely on herbarium material and Danser did not see the species in its natural habitat. Danser designated ''Pulle 277'' as the

type specimen 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 th ...

. Two further collections of ''N. insignis'' were made by Leonard John Brass in March 1939, 4 km south west of Bernhard Camp,

Idenburg River The Taritatu or Idenburg River also called Baliem River is a river in the northern part of the Indonesian province of Papua. It is the largest tributary of Mamberamo River with a total length of . Name During the Dutch colonial era it was known ...

(sheet 13379) and 8 km south west of Bernhard Camp (sheet 13669). Both are deposited at the Bogor Botanical Gardens. It appears that ''N. insignis'' was knowingly observed in the wild only in 1994 by four members of a field trip to New Guinea: W. Baumgartl, B. Kistler, H. Rischer, and A. Wistuba. A report on the group's findings was published in the ''

Carnivorous Plant Newsletter The ''Carnivorous Plant Newsletter'' is the official publication of the International Carnivorous Plant Society (ICPS), the largest such organization in the world. It is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. History and editorship The newsle ...

'' the following year.

Description

''Nepenthes insignis'' is a weak climber. The stem is usually around 50 to 80 cm long and up to 7 mm in diameter.

Internodes A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrien ...

are triangular in cross section and up to 9 cm long. Leaves are

coriaceous This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

and

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

. The

lamina Lamina may refer to: Science and technology * Planar lamina, a two-dimensional planar closed surface with mass and density, in mathematics * Laminar flow, (or streamline flow) occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption betwee ...

is linear-

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

or slightly

spathulate This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

and up to 35 cm long and 6 cm wide. It has an acute apex and is gradually

attenuate In physics, attenuation (in some contexts, extinction) is the gradual loss of flux intensity through a medium. For instance, dark glasses attenuate sunlight, lead attenuates X-rays, and water and air attenuate both light and sound at vari ...

towards the base. Four to six longitudinal veins are present on either side of the

midrib This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

Pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

veins run obliquely towards the margin and are indistinct in the outer part of the lamina.

Tendril In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape used by climbing plants for support and attachment, as well as cellular invasion by parasitic plants such as '' Cuscuta''. There are many plants that have tend ...

s are up to 6 mm in diameter and may or may not have a curl. Rosette and lower pitchers are ovate or narrowly ovate in the lower half and cylindrical above. They can be very large, reaching 35 cm in height. Terrestrial pitchers usually lack fringed wings, having a pair of ribs instead. The insertion of the pitcher mouth is slightly oblique. The flattened

peristome Peristome (from the Greek ''peri'', meaning 'around' or 'about', and ''stoma'', 'mouth') is an anatomical feature that surrounds an opening to an organ or structure. Some plants, fungi, and shelled gastropods have peristomes. In mosses In mosse ...

bears ribs spaced 0.5 to 1 mm apart. Its inner margin is lined with small teeth up to 1 mm long. It is not elongated into a neck. The inner portion of the peristome accounts for around 43% of its total cross-sectional surface length.Bauer, U., C.J. Clemente, T. Renner & W. Federle 2012. Form follows function: morphological diversification and alternative trapping strategies in carnivorous ''Nepenthes'' pitcher plants. ''Journal of Evolutionary Biology'' 25(1): 90–102. The inner surface of the pitcher is glandular in its lower half. Digestive glands are present at a density of 150 to 1500 per square centimetre. The waxy zone is reduced. The pitcher lid is orbiculate to broad

cordate Cordate is an adjective meaning ' heart-shaped' and is most typically used for: * Cordate (leaf shape) The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a ...

, bears a distinct midline, and may be up to 8 cm long. Numerous large glands are present on the underside of the lid, concentrated near the two main lateral veins.Nerz, J., P. Mann, T. Alt & T. Smith 1998
''Nepenthes sibuyanensis'', a new ''Nepenthes'' from Sibuyan, a remote island of the Philippines
''

'' 27(1): 18–23. An unbranched

filiform Filiform, thread or filament like, can refer to: * Filiform, a common term used in botany to describe a thread-like shape *Filiform, or filiform catheter In medicine, a catheter (/ˈkæθətər/) is a thin tubing (material), tube made from m ...

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

(≤5 mm long) is inserted near the base of the lid. Upper pitchers gradually arise from the ends of the tendrils, forming a 5 to 35 mm wide curve. They are infundibulate in the lower part and cylindrical above. They are up to 30 cm high and 8 cm wide. They may have very short wings (≤3 cm long) below the peristome. The pitcher mouth is oblique and acute or

acuminate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

towards the lid. The expanded peristome is up to 35 mm wide and bears ribs spaced 0.5 to 1 mm apart. Its inner margin is lined with teeth which are about as long as they are wide. The inner surface of the pitcher is almost wholly glandular. The very small, overarched digestive glands occur at a density of 400 to 3000 per square centimetre. The pitcher lid is orbicular-ovate and up to 7.5 cm long. It bears a distinct midline and two distinct lateral veins. A number of large suborbicular glands are concentrated around these veins. A filiform spur (≤5 mm long) is inserted near the base of the lid. ''Nepenthes insignis'' has a

racemose A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

. The peduncle is up to 18 cm long and 7 mm in diameter. The

rachis In biology, a rachis (from the grc, ῥάχις [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this c ...

, angular in cross section, and up to 46 cm long.

Pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

are two-flowered and lack bracts. They may be up to 22 mm long. The oblong

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s are approximately 4 mm long. Stamens are around 5 mm long including the anthers. Most parts of the plant are virtually

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

. Developing pitchers have a sparse

indumentum In biology, an indumentum (Latin, literally: "garment") is a covering of trichomes (fine "hairs") on a plant Davis, Peter Hadland and Heywood, Vernon Hilton (1963) ''Principles of angiosperm taxonomy'' Van Nostrandpage, Princeton, New Jersey, pa ...

of short stellate hairs. Developing inflorescences are very densely hairy, becoming less hairy when mature. Pedicels and tepals are densely and shortly hairy. Stamens are more densely hairy near the base than near the anthers. The stem and lamina are green. Lower pitchers are usually dark green with red blotches concentrated near the peristome, which is dark reddish brown. Upper pitchers are yellowish green with fewer blotches. Herbarium specimens are greenish or yellowish to light brown in colour. Faint red spots are visible on the outside surface of preserved pitchers. In dried specimens, the non-glandular portion of the inner surface is bluish and

pruinose Pruinescence , or pruinosity, is a "frosted" or dusty-looking coating on top of a surface. It may also be called a pruina (plural: ''pruinae''), from the Latin word for hoarfrost. The adjectival form is pruinose . Entomology In insects, a "blo ...

and may or may not be spotted.

Ecology

''Nepenthes insignis'' is

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...

and a number of nearby islands in

Cenderawasih Bay Cenderawasih Bay ( id, Teluk Cenderawasih, "Bird of Paradise Bay"), also known as Sarera Bay ( id, Teluk Sarera) and formerly Geelvink Bay ( nl, Geelvinkbaai), is a large bay in northern Province of Papua, Central Papua and West Papua, New Guin ...

. It has an altitudinal distribution of 0–850 m above sea level.McPherson, S.R. 2009. ''

Pitcher Plants of the Old World ''Pitcher Plants of the Old World'' is a two-volume monograph by Stewart McPherson on the pitcher plants of the genera '' Nepenthes'' and ''Cephalotus''. It was published in May 2009 by Redfern Natural History Productions and covers all species ...

''. 2 volumes. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. In the southern part of the Lakes Plain region of New Guinea it has been recorded from elevations of between 115 and 800 m. A smaller form of this species is also found near sea-level on the island of

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The large ...

. ''Nepenthes insignis'' occurs in dense forest and on foothills. Plants usually grow epiphytically in thick layers of moss, especially in trees overhanging rivers. At higher altitudes, the species has also been recorded from sediment bars along rivers.Jebb, M.H.P. & M.R. Cheek 1997. A skeletal revision of ''Nepenthes'' (Nepenthaceae). ''Blumea'' 42(1): 1–106.Jebb, M.H.P. 1991. An account of ''Nepenthes'' in New Guinea. ''Science in New Guinea'' 17(1): 7–54.

Relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

is always high in these habitats; the seeds of one plant which grew near a small waterfall were found to have germinated while still in their capsules. In its natural habitat, ''N. insignis'' occurs sympatrically with '' N. ampullaria'', '' N. maxima'' (above 400 m altitude), '' N. mirabilis'', and plants tentatively identified as '' N. papuana'' that grow at 575 m altitude. One natural

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

with ''N. mirabilis'' has been recorded.Rischer, H. 1995. ''

'' 24(3): 75–77. ''Nepenthes insignis'' is listed as

Least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

Carnivory

The prey of ''N. insignis'' appears to consist almost solely of big-winged

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are a Paraphyly, paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are we ...

es. It has been suggested that these nocturnal insects are attracted by odour produced by the plant. ''Nepenthes insignis'' has been used in a study concerning the carnivory of ''Nepenthes'' and their production of the allelochemical plumbagin. It was shown that _L-

alanine Alanine (symbol Ala or A), or α-alanine, is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an amine group and a carboxylic acid group, both attached to the central carbon atom which also carries a methyl group side ...

fed ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called " test-tube experiments", these studies in biology ...

'' to the pitchers of ''N. insignis'' is used to build up plumbagin, but is not incorporated into rossoliside and plumbaside A. The results suggest that these compounds are used for storage and have very low turnover rates.Rischer, H., A. Hamm & G. Bringmann 2002. ''Nepenthes insignis'' uses a C₂-portion of the carbon skeleton of _L-alanine acquired via its carnivorous organs, to build up the allelochemical plumbagin. ''Phytochemistry'' 59(6): 603–609.

Related species

B. H. Danser suggested that ''N. insignis'' is related to '' N. merrilliana'' from the

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 ...

. He placed both species in the '' Insignes'' clade, the members of which are characterised by coarse stems, large leaves, sparse indumentums, sessile leaves, and lids without appendages. ''Nepenthes insignis'' has also been compared to '' N. sibuyanensis'', another Philippine endemic. It can be distinguished from that species on the basis of a number of morphological features. The former produces two-flowered

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

, whereas those of ''N. sibuyanensis'' are one-flowered. The pitcher mouth of ''N. insignis'' is oblique, compared to almost horizontal in the latter. In addition, the peristome of ''N. sibuyanensis'' forms a short neck, while ''N. insignis'' lacks a neck completely. Furthermore, ''N. insignis'' has shorter peristome teeth than ''N. sibuyanensis'' (1 mm versus 5 mm). The pitchers of ''N. sibuyanensis'' also differ in shape, being ovate or slightly infundibulate.

Natural hybrids

A putative hybrid between ''N. insignis'' and '' N. mirabilis'' was found by members of the 1994 field trip to New Guinea. The plant was growing at an altitude of around 500 m. In Papua, ''N. insignis'' is commonly sympatric with '' N. ampullaria'' and '' N. maxima'', and hybrids involving these species may also occur, although none have been recorded to date.

Notes

:a.The original

description of ''N. insignis'' reads:

''Folia mediocria'' sessilia, lamina lineari-lanceolata, nervis longitudinalibus utrinque 4-6, basi in alas 2 decurrente, vagina 0 ; ''ascidia rosularum'' ignota ; ''ascidia caulum breviorum'' magnitudine mediocria v. maiora, parte inferiore ovata, os versus cylindrica, exalata, costis 2 prominentibus ; peristomio operculum versus acuto, expanso, 2-12 mm lato, costis l/2-3/4 mm distantibus, dentibus minus longis quam latis ; operculo rotundato-ovato, facie inferiore plano ; ''ascidia superiora'' magna, e basi lata infundibuliformi subcylindrica v. leviter infundibuliformia, costis 2 prominentibus, peristomio operculum versus acuto v. acuminato, expanso, 8-35 mm lato, costis 1/2-1 mm distantibus, dentibus c. tam longis quam latis ; operculo rotundato-cordato, facie inferiore plano v. plica subcarinato ; ''inflorescentia'' racemus longus pedicellis inferioribus c. 20 mm longis omnibus 2-floris ; ''indumentum'' in partibus vegetativis subnullum, in inflorescentiis densum adpressum, e pilis stellatis compositum.

References

External links

Photographs of ''N. insignis''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5460388 insignis Carnivorous plants of Asia Endemic flora of Western New Guinea Plants described in 1928 Taxa named by Benedictus Hubertus Danser