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| Nepenthes bicalcarata |
I last did
an update on my Nepenthes bicalcaratas and Nepenthes ampullarias in November. Since then, they've grown quite a few new pitchers, and I'm very pleased with their growth. Most significantly, the bicals have really matured, meaning their pitchers have begun producing a deeper, richer color.
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| Nepenthes bicalcarata |
One thing to note about the bicals, which is illustrated really well in this photograph, is the thin ring just outside the peristome. It reminds me of Nepenthes albomarginata, and I have to wonder whether it has a similar insect-attractant function. (As far as I know, this is a pure-bred Nepenthes bicalcarata).
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| Nepenthes bicalcarata |
What's also really interesting is the different pitcher morphology of different clones of Nepenthes bicalcarata. Not only do plants from different locations have markedly different colors, they also have pitchers which look quite different. Compare the large peristome on this clone with the smaller one on the clone above.
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| Nepenthes bicalcarata |
It's also really neat to see how "straight" or not, the pitcher "fangs" are in different clones. One of my clones needs braces, badly. The other two seem to have fangs that are, more or less, straight.
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| Nepenthes bicalcarata |
Some plants also have skinnier pitchers with thick tendrils. As I've
mentioned before, Nepenthes bicalcarata has a symbiotic relationship with a species of ant, which lives in hollowed out portions of its pitcher tendril. It's neat to see the plant start to develop more mature pitchers, which would have this hollowed portion of tendril.
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| Nepenthes bicalcarata |
I had to add one last shot of a bical pitcher because it is one of my favorite plants, and mine are doing so well. I'm very happy with them.
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| Nepenthes ampullaria |
It's hard to imagine that a year ago, my Nepenthes ampullaria was
small enough to fit in a 29-gallon terrarium, along with the rest of most of the Nepenthes collection. It's astonishing how much growth can occur in a year-and-a-half.
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| Nepenthes ampullaria |
The pitchers of this plant are a bright, lush red, and I'm very pleased with its coloration. My other Nepenthes ampullarias, in contrast, are all green, and green speckled with red, so I really enjoy the red pitchers.
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| Nepenthes ampullaria |
One last picture of this ampullaria. I really love lowlanders.
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