Video Saturday: Nepenthes Gracilis

Nepenthes gracilis is thought to be unusual in the genus of Nepenthes in that the underside of the lid of the pitcher has a layer of wax crystals structurally different from those found on the inner walls of the pitcher. In dry weather, insects find it easy to maintain a foothold on the underside of the lid of the pitcher, but under rainy conditions, this waxy coating makes it nearly impossible for insects, primarily ants, to maintain a foothold when a drop of rainwater strikes the lid of the pitcher. In fact, it contributes significantly to their catapulting into the pitcher itself. The video of this, which I could not figure out how to embed, is this Saturday's video.

N. gracilis is one of the most widespread of the Nepenthes species, being native to  Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, central Sulawesi, southernmost Thailand, and many small islands in that region. Its wide distribution is largely a factor of its ability to survive a wide range of altitudes (from 0 to 1,000 meters above sea level), with most populations occurring below 100 meters. Such a wide distribution has resulted in many interesting encounters, such as the one shown below, of a specimen stretching out over pavement.

Perhaps, the most interesting feature of N. gracilis its variability in color. Plants range from being bright green, to green with reddish inflections, to red, to, as seen below, wholly red on the outside with bright white inner pitchers. The variability of color in this species is outpaced only by Nepenthes rafflesiana, which is widely acknowledged as one of the most variable species in terms of color.