Nepenthes Hamata

''Nepenthes hamata'' is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sulawesi, where it grows at elevations of 1,400–2,500 m above sea level.

The specific epithet ''hamata'' is derived from the Latin word '' hamatus'', meaning "hooked". It describes the appearance of the highly developed peristome teeth of this species.

Botanical history

Early history and formal descriptions

''Nepenthes hamata'' was first encountered by Western explorers many decades before its formal description and recognition by science. Dutch botanist Pierre Joseph Eyma collected herbarium material of this species as early as 1938; this would later be used to designate a type specimen.

In 1984, two formal descriptions of this species were published in close succession: Shigeo Kurata described it under the name ''N. dentata'' in ''The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore'', while John R. Turnbull and Anne T. Middleton called it ''N. hamatus'' in the journal ''Reinwardtia''.

As explained in the introduction to his describing paper on ''N. dentata'', Kurata first became aware of the species more than a decade earlier, on a 1972 visit to Herbarium Bogoriense:

The name ''N. dentata'' was first published in Kurata's 1976 guide, '' Nepenthes of Mount Kinabalu'', where it was included in a table of all ''Nepenthes'' species known at the time and asterisked with the note "Not yet established".

Questions over nomenclatural priority

The formal descriptions of ''N. dentata'' by Kurata and ''N. hamatus'' by Turnbull and Middleton were published almost concurrently, leading to uncertainty over which name held nomenclatural priority. A similar situation surrounded the publication of ''N. eymae'' / ''N. infundibuliformis'' and ''N. glabrata'' / ''N. rubromaculata'', which were described by the same three authors.D'Amato, P. 1993. ''Carnivorous Plant Newsletter'' 22(1–2): 21.

''Nepenthes hamata'' (emended with a feminine suffix to match the gender of ''Nepenthes'')Schlauer, J. 1994
NEPENTHES comments for Flora Malesiana
Carnivorous Plant Mailing List, September 9, 1994.''Nepenthes hamata'' J.R.Turnbull & A.T.Middleton
International Plant Names Index (IPNI). gained greater currency and was said to have been published 21 days prior to ''N. dentata''.Jebb, M. 1994
NEPENTHES revision for Flora Malesiana
Carnivorous Plant Mailing List, September 9, 1994. However, in 1994 Matthew Jebb wrote that the "priority of this name over ''N. dentata'' ..is in fact in serious doubt, since the 'preprinted' ''Reinwardtia'' issue was technically not 'freely available' in terms of the Botanical Code". Taxonomist Jan Schlauer determined that the publication of Turnbull and Middleton's paper preceded Kurata's formal description of ''N. dentata'' in ''The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore'', but came after Kurata's article about the species in the ''Journal of Insectivorous Plant Society''. While some authors referred to the species as ''N. dentata'' in the following years, Marabini, J. 1987
Eine neue Unterart von ''Nepenthes edwardsiana'' Hook.fil. sowie Anmerkungen zur Taxonomie der Gattung ''Nepenthes'' L.
''Mitteilungen der Botanischen Staatssammlung München'' 23: 423–429. the name ''N. hamata'' enjoyed greater popularity and has for this reason been retained in all major monographs on the genus.Cheek, M.R. & M.H.P. Jebb 2001. Nepenthaceae. ''Flora Malesiana'' 15: 1–157.

In the years following its description, some authors considered the two taxa as separate species and there was even speculation among growers that ''N. hamata'' represented a hybrid involving the "true" species, ''N. dentata''. Schlauer considers ''N. dentata'' to be a heterotypic synonym of ''N. hamata''.

Type material

The type specimen of ''N. hamata'' is ''J.R.Turnbull & A.T.Middleton 83121a'', which was collected from the west ridge of Mount Lumut, Central Sulawesi (at the coordinates ), at an altitude of 1,850–1,900 m, on September 19, 1983.Schlauer, J. N.d
''Nepenthes hamata''
. Carnivorous Plant Database. In their description of the species, Turnbull and Middleton indicated that the type material had been deposited at Herbarium Bogoriense (BO), the herbarium of the Bogor Botanical Gardens. However, Martin Cheek were unable to locate it there and, referring collectively to the type material of ''N. hamata'', '' N. glabrata'', and '' N. infundibuliformis'' (which were all described by Turnbull and Middleton in the same paper), wrote that " ne of these collections has been found at the herbaria they cite".

An early collection by Dutch botanist Pierre Joseph Eyma, designated as ''Eyma 3572'', represents the type material of ''N. dentata''. The specimens of this series were taken from a site on the north spur of Mount Lumut, between bivouacs II and III, on September 3, 1938. Both the lectotype and isotype are deposited at Herbarium Bogoriense (BO).

In addition to the herbarium specimens of ''N. hamata'' mentioned here, a number of others have appeared in the literature.

Horticultural interest

''Nepenthes hamata'' remained very rare in cultivation until around 1996.Hansen, E. 2001
Where rocks sing, ants swim, and plants eat animals: finding members of the ''Nepenthes'' carnivorous plant family in Borneo
''Discover'' 22(10): 60–68. Its scarcity and striking appearance made it particularly desirable to collectors, and individual plants commanded prices of approximately US$300–400 during this time. The significant commercial value of the species encouraged wild collection by both local and foreign plant hunters. Beginning in 1995, Ch'ien Lee oversaw a ''Nepenthes'' artificial propagation program at Malesiana Tropicals, a company based in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo.Phillipps, A., A. Lamb & C.C. Lee 2008. ''Pitcher Plants of Borneo''. Second Edition. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu. Seeds of ''N. hamata'', which had been collected in the wild by Lee, were used to multiply plant material ''in vitro'' in the company's tissue culture laboratory. By 2001, Malesiana Tropicals had a sales inventory of more than 500 individuals of the species, supplying both hobbyists and commercial growers as well as botanical gardens and researchers. The increased supply led to a sharp fall in prices. The price of ''N. hamata'' was predicted in 2001 to stabilise at roughly $50 per plant, greatly limiting the incentive for wild collection. The species however remains highly sought-after and is still somewhat of a horticultural rarity.

Discovery of "red hairy ''hamata''"

In early 2005, Ch'ien Lee announced the discovery of a new form of ''N. hamata'' with an exceptionally dense indumentum:"Stairs" 2005
Re: New Hamata like species
CPUK Forum, June 26, 2005.

In response to subsequent speculation about the plant's taxonomic status, Lee wrote that it "merely represents a geographical variant of ''N. hamata''". It was informally known as ''N. hamata'' "red hairy" or simply "red hairy ''hamata''" (often abbreviated as 'RHH'). In 2020, this taxon was described as a species in its own right: '' N. diabolica''.Bianchi, A., C.C. Lee, M.R. Golos, F.S. Mey, M. Mansur, Y.M. Mambrasar & A.S. Robinson 2020. ''Nepenthes diabolica'' (Nepenthaceae), a new species of toothed pitcher plant from Central Sulawesi. ''Phytotaxa'' 464(1): 29–48. Like the type form of ''N. hamata'', ''N. diabolica'' has been raised to flowering size in cultivation and used to make hybrids with other ''Nepenthes'' species.

Later developments

British geographer Stewart McPherson published an updated description of the species in his 2009 monograph, ''Pitcher Plants of the Old World''. The book also covered the closely related undescribed taxon ''N.'' sp. Sulawesi, which McPherson had observed with Greg Bourke in 2007. ''Nepenthes'' sp. Sulawesi was described as '' N. nigra'' in McPherson's 2011 work, ''New Nepenthes''.

Description

''Nepenthes hamata'' is a strong climber. The stem, which may be branched, reaches a maximum length of around 7 m. It is terete to obtusely trigonous and varies in diameter from up to 3 mm in rosettes and short stems, to 4–5 mm in climbing stems. In the former, the internodal length is typically up to 6 mm and in the latter 3.5–6 cm.

Leaves

Leaves are sessile and chartaceous in texture. The shape of the lamina (leaf blade) is variable: it may be linear, lanceolate, or slightly elliptic.

In the case of rosettes and short stems, the lamina is typically oblanceolate to oblong-elliptic and measures up to 7.5 cm in length by 2.5 cm in width. It has an acute apex and does not exhibit a peltate tendril attachment. The laminar base is amplexicaul

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases