Nepenthes khasiana

''Nepenthes khasiana'' (; after the Khasi Hills, to which it is largely endemic) is an endangered tropical pitcher plant of the genus ''Nepenthes''. It is the only ''Nepenthes'' species native to India. It is thought to attract prey by means of blue fluorescence.

The species has a very localised distribution and is rare in the wild. But with new advancement in agro-technology and tissue culture, it is now being cultivated in campus of Nagaland University, Nagaland. These Pitcher Plants which are endemic to Meghalaya can be seen widely as decorative plants outside many houses of Nagaland.

Isolated populations are known to occur in the Jarain area of the Jaintia Hills, the Baghmara area of the Garo Hills, adjacent to the Khasi Hills region of Meghalaya, in the Upper Kharthong area, of Dima Hasao district Assam and in some parts of Nagaland.Sajem Betlu, A.L. 2016. Current Science. Vol III, No. 8.
File:Distribution Map of N. khasiana in Meghalaya and Assam.jpg
Nevertheless, ''N. khasiana'' exhibits considerable genetic diversity.

The Khasi people call the plant ''tiew-rakot'', which means ''demon-flower'' or ''devouring-plant''. The Jaintias call it ''kset phare'', which is roughly translated as ''lidded fly net''. The Garo call the plant ''memang-koksi'', which literally means ''the basket of the devil'' and the Biate tribe of Assam call the plant ''Jug-Par'' which means ''Jug-flower'' or ''Loisul Kola'' which literally means ''Pitcher-plant''.
File:Nepenthese khasiana.jpg, A Pitcher plant from Vaitang Hebron village,Dima Hasao district, Assam, India
''Nepenthes khasiana'' is a protected species, classified as endangered, and is listed under CITES Appendix I meaning commercial international trade is prohibited. Threats to wild populations include habitat destruction, acid mine drainage associated with coal mining, and collection for medicinal and ornamental uses.Prasad, M.N.V. & S. Jeeva 2009
Coal mining and its leachate are potential threats to ''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hook. f. (Nepenthaceae) that preys on insects - an endemic plant in North Eastern India.
''Biological Diversity and Conservation'' 2/3: 29–33. In 2010, the Rare ''Nepenthes'' Collection was established with the aim of conserving 4 of the most threatened ''Nepenthes'' species: '' N. aristolochioides'', '' N. clipeata'', ''N. khasiana'', and '' N. rigidifolia''.

The specific epithet ''khasiana'' is spelled ''khasyana'' in some older texts.Masters, M.T. 1872
The cultivated species of ''Nepenthes''.
''The Gardeners' Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette'' 1872(16): 540–542. This spelling actually predates that under which the species was formally published in Joseph Dalton Hooker's 1873 monograph, " Nepenthaceae", as it appeared in an article by Maxwell T. Masters in the April 20, 1872 issue of '' The Gardeners' Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette'' (this article was itself based on the manuscript of Hooker's monograph). In the horticultural trade of the late 19th century, ''N. khasiana'' was often confused with '' N. distillatoria'' of Sri Lanka.Dixon, W.E. 1889
''Nepenthes''.
''The Gardeners' Chronicle'', series 3, 6(144): 354.

Image:Syx_lower_khasiana.jpg, Intermediate pitcher of cultivated mature plant
Image:Syx_upper_khasiana.jpg, Upper pitcher of cultivated mature plant

References

Further reading

* Ahmed, M. 2010. ''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hook. f. (Endemic). In: ''Medicinal Plants''. MJP Publishers, Chennai.
* Bahadur, V., K.S. Kirad, A. Mathew & D.B. Singh 2008

''Acta Horticulturae (ISHS)'' 786: 287–293.
* Balakrishnan, N.P. 1983. ''Flora of Jowai and Vicinity, Meghalaya. Volume 2.'' Botanical Survey of India, Howrah.
* 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.
* Bordoloi, R.P.M. 1977. '' The Pitcher Plant: Nepenthes khasiana''. ''Carnivorous plants of North East India I''. Dutta Baruah, Gauhati.
* Brown, J. 2013. ''Nepenthes khasianas chitin-induced pitcher liquid: a potential treatment for opportunistic fungal infection. ''Carnivorous Plant Newsletter'' 42(2): 62–65.
* Choudhury, A. 2000. Range extension of ''Nepenthes khasiana'' in the Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya. ''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society'' 97(1): 166–167.
* Devi, N.R. 2004
Reproductive biology of endemic and endangered insectivorous Indian species ''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hk. f.
Ph.D. thesis, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong.
* Devi, R. & N. Venugopal 2006. The status of insectivorous plants in North-East India: their uses and conservation. ''The Journal of the Swamy Botanical Club'' 23(1–4): 75–80.
* Devi, S.P., S.R. Rao, S. Kumaria & P. Tandon 2012. Mitotic chromosome studies in ''Nepenthes khasiana'', an endemic insectivorous plant of Northeast India. ''Cytologia'' 77(3): 381–384.
* Devi, S.P., S. Kumaria, S.R. Rao & P. Tandon 2013. In vitro propagation and assessment of clonal fidelity of ''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hook. f.: a medicinal insectivorous plant of India. ''Acta Physiologiae Plantarum'' 35(9): 2813–2820.
* Devi, S.P., S. Kumaria, S.R. Rao & P. Tandon 2014. Single primer amplification reaction (SPAR) methods reveal subsequent increase in genetic variations in micropropagated plants of ''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hook. f. maintained for three consecutive regenerations. ''Gene'', published online on 16 January 2014.
* Eilenberg, H., S. Pnini-Cohen, S. Schuster, A. Movtchan & A. Zilberstein 2006. Isolation and characterization of chitinase genes from pitchers of the carnivorous plant ''Nepenthes khasiana''. ''Journal of Experimental Botany'' 57(11): 2775–2784.
* Eilenberg, H., S. Pnini-Cohen, Y. Rahamim, E. Sionov, E. Segal, S. Carmeli & A. Zilberstein 2010. Induced production of antifungal naphthoquinones in the pitchers of the carnivorous plant ''Nepenthes khasiana''. ''Journal of Experimental Botany'' 61(3): 911–922.
* Haridasan, K. & R.R. Rao 1987. ''Forest Flora of Meghalaya. Volume II.'' Bishen Sing Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun.
* Jain, S.K. & A.K. Baishya 1977. ''Nepenthes khasiana'': an endangered species. ''Hornbill'': 17–18.
* Jain, S.K. 1987. Endangered species of medicinal herbs in India. ''Medicinal Herbs in Indian Life'' 16(1): 44–53.
* Jebb, M. & Cheek, M. 1997. A skeletal revision of ''Nepenthes'' (Nepenthaceae). ''Blumea'' 42(1): 1–106.
* Jeeva, S., J.T. Sawian, F.G. Lyndem, R.C. Laloo & N. Venugopal 2007. Medicinal plants in Northeast India: past, present and future scenario. In: A. Lakshmi Prabha (ed.) ''National Seminar on Past, Present and Future Scenario in Medicinal Plants and Phytochemistry''. Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli. pp. 18–19.
* Joseph, J. & K.M. Joseph 1986. ''Insectivorous Plants of Khasi and Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, India: A Preliminary Survey''. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta.
* Latha, P.G. & S. Seeni 1994. Multiplication of the endangered Indian pitcher plant (''Nepenthes khasiana'') through enhanced axillary branching ''in vitro''. ''Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture'' 38(1): 69–71.
* Mandal, B. & A. Mukherjee 2011. ''Current Science'' 100(6): 807.
* Mao, A.A. & P. Kharbuli 2002. Distribution and status of ''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hook. f.—a rare endemic pitcher plant of Meghalaya, India. ''Phytotaxonomy'' 2: 77–83.
* Mao, A.A. & R.A. Ranyaphi 2007. Seed viability studies in ''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hook.f.: comparison of ''in vivo'' and ''in vitro'' seed germination. ''Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India'' 49(1–4): 1–246.
* Meimberg, H., P. Dittrich, G. Bringmann, J. Schlauer & G. Heubl 2000. Molecular phylogeny of Caryophyllidae s.l. based on ''matK'' sequences with special emphasis on carnivorous taxa. ''Plant Biology'' 2(2): 218–228.
* Meimberg, H., A. Wistuba, P. Dittrich & G. Heubl 2001. Molecular phylogeny of Nepenthaceae based on cladistic analysis of plastid trnK intron sequence data. ''Plant Biology'' 3(2): 164–175.
* Meimberg, H. 2002.  Ph.D. thesis, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich.
* Meimberg, H. & G. Heubl 2006. Introduction of a nuclear marker for phylogenetic analysis of Nepenthaceae. ''Plant Biology'' 8(6): 831–840.
* Mukerjee, A., D.P. Dam & N. Dam 1984. Pitcher plant—an ornamental climber of Meghalaya. ''Ind. Hort.'' April–June 1: 6–18.
* Nongrum, I., S. Kumaria & P. Tandon 2009
Multiplication through ''in vitro'' seed germination and pitcher development in ''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hook. f., a unique insectivorous plant of India
''Journal of Horticultural Science & Biotechnology'' 84(3): 329–332.
* Nongrum, I., S. Kumar, S. Kumaria & P. Tandon 2012
Genetic variation and gene flow estimation of ''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hook. F- a threatened insectivorous plant of India as revealed by RAPD markers.
''Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology'' 15(2): 53–57.
* Raj, G., R. Kurup, A.A. Hussain & S. Baby 2011. Distribution of naphthoquinones, plumbagin, droserone, and 5-''O''-methyl droserone in chitin-induced and uninduced ''Nepenthes khasiana'': molecular events in prey capture. ''Journal of Experimental Botany'' 62(15): 5429–5436.
* Rao, T.A., P.G. Shanware & G.N. Tribedi 1969. A note on the pitcher plant habitat in Assam. ''Indian Forester'' 95(9): 611–613.
* Rathore, T.S., P. Tandon & N.S. Shekhawat 1991. ''In vitro'' regeneration of pitcher plant (''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hook. f.) — a rare insectivorous plant of India. ''Journal of Plant Physiology'' 139(2): 246–248.
* Redwood, G.N. & J.C. Bowling 1990

''Botanic Gardens Micropropagation News'' 1(2): 19–20.
* Renner, T. & C.D. Specht 2012. Molecular and functional evolution of class I chitinases for plant carnivory in the Caryophyllales. ''Molecular Biology and Evolution'' 29(10): 2971–2985.
* Riedel, M., A. Eichner, H. Meimberg & R. Jetter 2007. Chemical composition of epicuticular wax crystals on the slippery zone in pitchers of five ''Nepenthes'' species and hybrids. ''Planta'' 225(6): 1517–1534.
* Rodgers, W.A. & S. Gupta 1989. The pitcher plant (''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hk. f.) sanctuary of Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya: lessons for conservation. ''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society'' 86(1): 17–21.
* Singh, B., S.J. Phukan, B.K. Sinha, V.N. Singh & S.K. Borthakur 2011
Conservation strategies for ''Nepenthes khasiana'' in the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve of Garo Hills, northeast, India.
''International Journal of Conservation Science'' 2(1): 55–64.
* Singh, B., S.K. Borthakur & S.J. Phukan 2014. A survey of ethnomedicinal plants utilized by the indigenous people of Garo Hills with special reference to the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve (Meghalaya), India. ''Journal of Herbs, Spices & Medicinal Plants'' 20(1): 1–30.
* Slack, A. 1979. ''Nepenthes khasiana''. In: ''Carnivorous Plants''. Ebury Press, London. p. 86.
* Subramanyam, K. & L.L. Narayana 1971. A contribution to the floral anatomy of ''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hook f.. ''Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Section B'' 73(3): 124–131.
* Tynsong, H., B.K. Tiwari & M.B. Lynser 2006. Medicinal plants of Meghalaya, India. ''Medplant Network News'' 6(2): 7–10.
* Vassilyev, A.E. 2006
Ультраструктура и субклеточные механизмы функционирования пищеварительных железок плотоядного растения ''Nepenthes khasiana'' (Nepenthaceae)
''Botanicheskii Zhurnal'' 91(12): 1883–1891.
* Vassilyev, A.E. & L.E. Muravnik 2007
Нектарники крышки в закрытых кувшинах ''Nepenthes khasiana'' (Nepenthaceae) секретируют пищеварительную жидкость
''Botanicheskii Zhurnal'' 92(8): 1141–1144.
* Vassilyev, A.E. 2007
Нектарники перистома в закрытых кувшинах ''Nepenthes khasiana'' (Nepenthaceae) секретируют полисахаридную слизь
''Botanicheskii Zhurnal'' 92(10): 1554–1568.
* Venugopal, N. & N.R. Devi 2003. Development of the anther in ''Nepenthes khasiana'' Hook.f. (Nepenthaceae), an endemic and endangered insectivorous plant of North East India. ''Feddes Repertorium'' 114(1–2): 69–73.
* Warwicker, M. 2013
Carnivorous plant species glow blue to lure prey
''BBC Nature News'', February 19, 2013.
* esearch and Development Centre, Flower Valley Agro-Tech2005. ''Nepenthes khasiana''. In: ''Handbook of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants of North East India''. Spectrum Publications, Guwahati.

From Carnivorous Plants to the Medicine Cabinet?
American Friends of Tel Aviv University, February 18, 2010.

External links

Video of plants in habitat

{{Taxonbar, from=Q144311

Carnivorous plants of Asia
khasiana
Flora of Meghalaya
Plants described in 1873
Species endangered by the pet trade
Flora of Assam