Nepenthes faizaliana

Species of pitcher plant from Borneo

Nepenthes faizaliana /n//ᵻ/'/p//ɛ//n//θ//iː//z// /,/f//aɪ//z//æ//l//i/'/ɑː//n//ə/ is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the limestone cliffs of Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Borneo. It is thought to be most closely related to N. boschiana.

The type specimen of N. faizaliana, S 44163 (Lai & Jugah), was collected on November 10, 1981, on Batu Panjang in Gunung Mulu National Park. The holotype is deposited at the Sarawak Forest Department Herbarium (SAR) in Kuching, Sarawak; isotypes are held at the herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K) and at the National Herbarium of the Netherlands (L) in Leiden. This treatment was followed by Anthea Phillipps and Anthony Lamb in their book Pitcher Plants of Borneo. However, Charles Clarke retained N. faizaliana as a distinct species in his monograph Nepenthes of Borneo, which was published a few months after the work of Jebb and Cheek. Upper pitchers are narrowly infundibular, becoming slightly wider in the upper part. They reach over 30 cm in height. The pitcher mouth has an oblique insertion. The peristome is flattened, cylindrical in cross section, and up to 4 mm wide. The lid or operculum is orbicular and has a distinctive glandular crest on its underside. An unbranched spur is inserted near the base of the lid. Nepenthes faizaliana bears an indumentum of white, stellate hairs on its stem and petioles. The upper surface of the lamina is glabrous, whereas the underside has a sparse covering of short, branched hairs. In addition, long white hairs are present at the base of the midrib. although it has been recorded from elevations as low as 400 m.

Nepenthes faizaliana belongs to the loosely defined "N. maxima complex", which also includes, among other species, N. boschiana, N. chaniana, N. epiphytica, N. eymae, N. fusca, N. klossii, N. maxima, N. platychila, N. stenophylla, and N. vogelii. Nepenthes faizaliana appears to be most closely related to N. boschiana. These two species differ in the extent of their indumentums; that of N. faizaliana is well developed and conspicuous, while mature plants of N. boschiana are virtually glabrous. In addition, the lower pitchers of N. boschiana tend to have a more bulbous base and a wider peristome. The upper pitchers are hard to distinguish, although those of N. boschiana usually have a wider mouth. Charles Clarke writes that these differences are "not major" and that "closer comparisons seem warranted". Nepenthes faizaliana also bears a resemblance to N. fusca. In their description of the former, Adam and Wilcock distinguished these taxa on the basis of inflorescence structure, the size of the glandular region on the inner surface of upper pitchers, and the development and characteristics of the indumentum. In addition, N. faizaliana differs in having an orbicular pitcher lid, as opposed to the very narrow lid of N. fusca.