Борнеоның құмыра гүлі – Непентес нортияна

Species of pitcher plant from Borneo

Nepenthes northiana /n//ᵻ/'/p//ɛ//n//θ//iː//z// /,/n//ɔːr//θ//i/'/ɑː//n//ə/, or Miss North's pitcher plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo, where it grows at elevations ranging from 0 to 500 m above sea level. The specific epithet northiana honours the English botanic illustrator Marianne North, who first depicted the species. Nepenthes northiana is one of the most famous Nepenthes, and its discovery in the latter half of the 19th century contributed to Sarawak's reputation as a land of spectacular exotic plants.

Nepenthes northiana is a climbing plant. The stem may attain a length of 10 m and is up to 15 mm in diameter. Internodes are up to 25 cm long and cylindrical to triangular in cross section. A pair of fringed wings (≤15 mm) runs down the front of the pitcher. The pitcher mouth is ovate, slightly raised towards the rear, and has an oblique insertion. The peristome of this species is greatly expanded at the sides (≤25 mm wide) and often has undulate margins. Its inner edge is lined with short but distinct teeth. The lid or operculum is ovate to oblong in shape, lacks appendages, and has an acute apex. An unbranched spur (≤20 mm long) is inserted near the base of the lid. Upper pitchers are similar to their lower counterparts but differ in being infundibular throughout. The wings are often retained in aerial pitchers, although they may be reduced to ribs. The species lacks a distinct indumentum, as all parts of the plant are virtually glabrous. The conservation status of N. northiana is listed as Vulnerable on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species based on an assessment carried out in 2000. Quarrying activity has damaged several of the hills on which N. northiana grows, although this has apparently not affected the plants directly. and are thus highly sought after by collectors. In their 1996 monograph Pitcher Plants of Borneo, Anthea Phillipps and Anthony Lamb wrote that N. northiana "has been over collected nearly to the point of extinction". Although there are few morphological characters separating these two taxa, there seem to be several stable differences that can be used to distinguish between them. Compared to N. northiana, the leaves on the climbing stems of N. mapuluensis are more linear, the pitchers darker in colour, and the upper pitchers narrower. The two species have a similarly shaped lamina and petiole, but N. northiana differs in that the climbing stem can be triangular in cross section, as opposed to strictly cylindrical in N. macrovulgaris. In addition, the latter species does not have decurrent leaf bases.

Nepenthes × cincta is a rare plant and, due to the localised distribution of N. northiana, only grows at a few sites in Bau, Sarawak, usually on a substrate of limestone. The traits of N. albomarginata are very dominant in this hybrid; the wide flared peristome of its larger parent species (N. northiana) is almost completely lost. Pitchers are narrowly infundibulate (funnel shaped) throughout and range in colouration from cream to dusky purple with red or black spots.

Nepenthes × bauensis is intermediate in appearance between its two parent species. It displays the clumping habit and vine growth of N. gracilis, but can be distinguished from that species on the basis of its larger leaves and stems. The influence of N. northiana is most obvious in the pitcher morphology. In particular, the peristome is wider than in N. gracilis and has scattered red bands. Pitchers are up to 15 cm high and may be pale green to purplish red in colour. Like its parent species, N. × bauensis is a lowland plant that grows at an elevation of around 100 m. It is terrestrial in nature and inhabits swampy areas surrounding the limestone hills to which N. northiana is endemic. This hybrid appears to be very rare and only a few plants have been found. It is known from a single location.

Nepenthes mirabilis × N. northiana is a relatively rare natural hybrid and was only discovered in 2007.

Nepenthes northiana has a reputation amongst Nepenthes growers for being difficult to cultivate. For some time it was speculated that a potting medium involving limestone was necessary to successfully cultivate the species, but this is apparently not the case. Other growers have reported that the choice of growing medium is apparently of little consequence.