''Nepenthes rowaniae'' (; after

Ellis Rowan Marian Ellis Rowan (30 July 18484 October 1922), known as Ellis Rowan, was a well-known Australian artist and botanical illustrator. She also did a series of illustrations on birds, butterflies and insects. Life Marian, the daughter of Maria ...

, Australian naturalist and illustrator) is a species of

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 ...

to the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...

, Australia. It is closely related to '' N. mirabilis'' and was once considered an extreme form of this species.Clarke, C.M. & R. Kruger 2005
''Nepenthes rowanae'' (Nepenthaceae), a remarkable species from Cape York, Australia.
''

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 ...

'' 34(2): 36-41.Lowrie, A. 2013. ''Nepenthes rowaniae'' F.M.Bailey. In: '' Carnivorous Plants of Australia Magnum Opus - Volume Three''. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 906–909.

Taxonomy

Between 1881 and 1905,

Frederick Manson Bailey Frederick Manson Bailey (8 March 1827 – 25 June 1915) was a botanist active in Australia, who made valuable contributions to the characterisation of the flora of Queensland. He was known by his middle name, Manson. Early life Bailey was bo ...

described 11 species of '' Nepenthes'' from northern Australia, all of which were placed in synonymy with ''N. mirabilis'' by B. H. Danser in 1928.Danser, B.H. 1928.

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 ...

. ''Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg'', Série III, 9(3-4): 249-438. The only

taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

which Danser considered to possess morphological characters atypical of ''N. mirabilis'' was ''N. rowaniae''. He wrote:

"Of all these I have seen the type or at least authentic specimens, but they are nearly all mere growth forms of ''N. mirabilis''. Only ''N. rowanae'' shows a character not yet met with in ''N. mirabilis'', ''viz.'' campanulate-infundibuliform upper pitchers. A similar aberration, however, is often met with in several allied species and is certainly insufficient for specific distinction."

However, field observations carried out between 2001 and 2003 "showed that ''N. rowanae'' possesses several stable, significant morphological and ecological characteristics that are not exhibited by ''N. mirabilis''", and the taxon was subsequently elevated to a species in 2005. This opinion is not universally shared; taxonomist

Jan Schlauer Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

continues to treat ''N. rowaniae'' as a

heterotypic synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linn ...

of '' N. mirabilis'' in his Carnivorous Plant Database.

Spelling

According to the

ICBN The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...

, the correct spelling of this taxon's name is ''Nepenthes rowaniae'', as the epithet is based on the personal name Rowan. There is only one correct way to form this epithet (in the genitive: Rec 60C.1.b.) and the resulting correct spelling is mandatory; any usage of the spelling ''rowanae'' is to be corrected to ''rowaniae'' (Art 60.11). However, the literature tends to use ''Nepenthes rowanae'', instead.Bourke, G. & R. Nunn 2012. ''Nepenthes''. In: ''Australian Carnivorous Plants''. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 148–167.

Natural hybrids

*'' N. mirabilis'' × ''N. rowaniae'' *''N. rowaniae'' × '' N. tenax''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.

Taxonomy

Spelling

Natural hybrids

References

Further reading