Nepenthes sumatrana

Species of pitcher plant from Sumatra

Nepenthes sumatrana /n//ᵻ/'/p//ɛ//n//θ//iː//z// /,/s//ʊ//m//ɑː/'/t//r//ɑː//n//ə/ is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, after which it is named.

Nepenthes sumatrana was first collected by Johannes Elias Teijsmann in February 1856, near the port town of Sibolga. Teijsmann wrote the following account of his discovery: and in 1886 Odoardo Beccari considered it a variety of N. maxima. Both of these species are now known to be absent from Sumatra. although he introduced it under the entry for N. maxima with the words "Hierzu gehört als Varietät: N. sumatrana" (this includes a variety: N. sumatrana). a species native to New Guinea. B. H. Danser supported this interpretation in his seminal monograph, "The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies", published in 1928. In 1986, N. sumatrana was again recognised as a distinct species by Rusjdi Tamin and Mitsuru Hotta, who noted significant differences between it and N. treubiana. Matthew Jebb also treated N. sumatrana separately in his 1991 monograph, "An account of Nepenthes in New Guinea", as did Joachim Nerz and Andreas Wistuba in 1994, when they described the closely related N. longifolia. Nepenthes sumatrana was formally restored in Matthew Jebb and Martin Cheek's 1997 revision, "A skeletal revision of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae)", although the authors sunk N. longifolia in synonymy with N. sumatrana. This latter decision was reversed by Charles Clarke in his 2001 work, Nepenthes of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia. Rosette pitchers may be ovoid throughout or narrowly ovoid in the lower half and cylindrical above. They grow up to 10 cm high and 4 cm wide. Two fringed wings, up to 8 mm wide, run along the front of rosette pitchers. The peristome is cylindrical in cross section and up to 4 mm wide, bearing indistinct teeth. The pitcher lid or operculum is sub orbiculate and has no appendages. An unbranched spur (≤15 mm long) is inserted at the base of the lid. and 2001 failed to locate any plants.

The conservation status of N. sumatrana is listed as Critically Endangered on the 2014 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. ? N. longifolia × N. sumatrana