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 known at the time.McPherson, S.R. 2009. ''Pitcher Plants of the Old World''. 2 volumes. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. The work was edited by Alastair Robinson and Andreas Fleischmann.

The monograph was followed in 2011 by '' New Nepenthes: Volume One'', a supplementary work covering the many ''Nepenthes'' taxa documented in the preceding few years.McPherson, S.R. 2011. '' New Nepenthes: Volume One''. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.

Background

In an interview with ''The Hoopoe'', McPherson explained his reasons for writing the book and the extensive field work that it involved:

I prepared ''Pitcher Plants of the Old World'' in response to the lack of available information on dozens of species of ''Nepenthes''. Since many species of ''Nepenthes'' are not in cultivation, and also because there is often confusion concerning those that are, I resolved to study and photograph each species of ''Nepenthes'' and ''Cephalotus'' in the wild, in order to document each adequately. After graduating from university in 2006 at the age of 23, I began three years of intense research focusing on ''Nepenthes'' and ''Cephalotus'', and spent a cumulative total of eighteen months in the field. Over the last three years, I climbed over one hundred mountains across Southeast Asia in search of species of ''Nepenthes''. Many of these journeys were relatively simple, lasting just a few days or less. Others required more extensive effort, and in a few cases, I spent more than one week to find a single ''Nepenthes'' taxon.

Content

The book gives a detailed account of the singular '' Cephalotus follicularis'' as well as 120 species of ''Nepenthes'', including one described for the first time ('' N. micramphora''). A further five " incompletely diagnosed taxa" are included: ''N.'' sp. Misool, ''N.'' sp. Papua (later identified as '' N. lamii''),Robinson, A., J. Nerz, A. Wistuba, M. Mansur & S. McPherson 2011. ''Nepenthes lamii'' Jebb & Cheek, an emended description resulting from the separation of a two-species complex, and the introduction of ''Nepenthes monticola'', a new species of highland pitcher plant from New Guinea. In: McPherson, S.R. '' New Nepenthes: Volume One''. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 522–555. ''N.'' sp. Phanga Nga (later described as ''N. mirabilis'' var. ''globosa''), ''N.'' sp. Sulawesi (later described as '' N. nigra''),Nerz, J., A. Wistuba, C.C. Lee, G. Bourke, U. Zimmermann & S. McPherson 2011. ''Nepenthes nigra'', a new pitcher plant from Central Sulawesi. In: McPherson, S.R. '' New Nepenthes: Volume One''. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 468–491. and ''N.'' sp. Trang (later described as '' N. kerrii''). '' Nepenthes hamiguitanensis''—which would be described in McPherson's next book, ''Carnivorous Plants and their Habitats''—is treated here as a natural hybrid between '' N. micramphora'' and '' N. peltata''.Gronemeyer, T., A. Wistuba, V. Heinrich, S. McPherson, F. Mey & A. Amoroso 2010. ''Nepenthes hamiguitanensis'' (Nepenthaceae), a new pitcher plant species from Mindanao Island, Philippines. In: S.R. McPherson ''Carnivorous Plants and their Habitats''. Volume 2. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 1296–1305.

Species

In addition to '' Cephalotus follicularis'', the following 120 species and 5 undescribed taxa of ''Nepenthes'' are covered in the book.

# '' N. adnata''
# '' N. alata''
# '' N. alba''
# '' N. albomarginata''
# '' N. ampullaria''
# '' N. angasanensis''
# '' N. argentii''
# '' N. aristolochioides''
# '' N. attenboroughii''
# '' N. beccariana''
# '' N. bellii''
# '' N. benstonei''
# '' N. bicalcarata''
# '' N. bokorensis''
# '' N. bongso''
# '' N. boschiana''
# '' N. burbidgeae''
# '' N. burkei''
# '' N. campanulata''
# '' N. chaniana''
# '' N. clipeata''
# '' N. copelandii''
# '' N. danseri''
# '' N. deaniana''
# '' N. densiflora''
# '' N. diatas''
# '' N. distillatoria''
# '' N. dubia''
# '' N. edwardsiana''
# '' N. ephippiata''
# '' N. eustachya''
# '' N. eymae''
# '' N. faizaliana''
# '' N. flava''
# '' N. fusca''
# '' N. glabrata''
# '' N. glandulifera''
# '' N. gracilis''
# '' N. gracillima''
# '' N. gymnamphora''
# '' N. hamata''
# '' N. hirsuta''
# '' N. hispida''
# '' N. hurrelliana''
# '' N. inermis''
# '' N. insignis''
# '' N. izumiae''
# '' N. jacquelineae''
# '' N. jamban''
# '' N. junghuhnii''
# '' N. kampotiana''
# '' N. khasiana''
# '' N. klossii''
# '' N. kongkandana''
# '' N. lamii''
# '' N. lavicola''
# '' N. lingulata''
# '' N. longifolia''
# '' N. lowii''
# '' N. macfarlanei''
# '' N. macrophylla''
# '' N. macrovulgaris''
# '' N. madagascariensis''
# '' N. mantalingajanensis''
# '' N. mapuluensis''
# '' N. masoalensis''
# '' N. maxima''
# '' N. merrilliana''
# '' N. micramphora''
# '' N. mikei''
# '' N. mindanaoensis''
# '' N. mira''
# '' N. mirabilis''
# '' N. mollis''
# '' N. muluensis''
# '' N. murudensis''
# '' N. naga''
# '' N. neoguineensis''
# '' N. northiana''
# '' N. ovata''
# '' N. paniculata''
# '' N. papuana''
# '' N. peltata''
# '' N. pervillei''
# '' N. petiolata''
# '' N. philippinensis''
# '' N. pilosa''
# '' N. pitopangii''
# '' N. platychila''
# '' N. rafflesiana''
# '' N. rajah''
# '' N. ramispina''
# '' N. reinwardtiana''
# '' N. rhombicaulis''
# '' N. rigidifolia''
# '' N. rowanae''
# '' N. sanguinea''
# '' N. saranganiensis''
# '' N. sibuyanensis''
# '' N. singalana''
# '' N. smilesii''
# '' N. spathulata''
# '' N. spectabilis''
# '' N. stenophylla''
# '' N. sumatrana''
# '' N. surigaoensis''
# '' N. talangensis''
# '' N. tenax''
# '' N. tentaculata''
# '' N. tenuis''
# '' N. thorelii''
# '' N. tobaica''
# '' N. tomoriana''
# '' N. treubiana''
# '' N. truncata''
# '' N. veitchii''
# '' N. ventricosa''
# '' N. vieillardii''
# '' N. villosa''
# '' N. vogelii''

;Incompletely diagnosed taxa
# ''N.'' sp. Misool
# ''N.'' sp. Papua ('' N. lamii'')
# ''N.'' sp. Phanga Nga ( ''N. mirabilis'' var. ''globosa'')
# ''N.'' sp. Sulawesi ('' N. nigra'')
# ''N.'' sp. Trang ('' N. kerrii'')

Reviews

The book has been praised for its scope, detail, and high-quality photographs.Christenhusz, M.J.M. & M.F. Fay 2009. ''Phytotaxa'' 2: 46–48.Darnowski, D. 2010. ''Plant Science Bulletin'' 56(1): 45–46. In their review for the journal '' Phytotaxa'', Maarten J. M. Christenhusz and Michael F. Fay wrote:

This is to date the only publication dealing with the genus ''Nepenthes'' throughout its geographical range. He cPhersonhumbly refers the reader to other taxonomic works, but these are all regional treatments. The level of information provided on all the species of ''Nepenthes'' is outstanding and has no precedent.

References

External links

Photographs from the book

{{Nepenthes monographs

Nepenthes literature
2009 non-fiction books