Nepenthes jacquelineae

Species of pitcher plant from Sumatra

Nepenthes jacquelineae /n//ᵻ/'/p//ɛ//n//θ//iː//z// /,/dʒ//æ//k/'/l//ɪ//n//i//aɪ/ is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Due to its unique pitcher morphology, it is considered to be one of the most spectacular Nepenthes species native to the island.

Nepenthes jacquelineae was discovered in July 2000 by Charles Clarke and Troy Davis. The plants were found north of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, growing at an elevation of around 1700 m. The formal description of N. jacquelineae was published in Clarke's 2001 monograph, Nepenthes of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia. The typical habitat of N. jacquelineae is dense mossy forest, which is almost constantly shrouded in fog and experiences daily rainfall. As a result, humidity levels are always high and the climate is cool. Plants are exposed to relatively low light levels, as sunlight is diffused by fog and vegetation. The species is relatively common at the type locality, although few seedlings and young plants have been observed there. This suggests that recruitment rates of this species may be low or episodic. In addition, the spectacular appearance of N. jacquelineae makes its wild populations particularly vulnerable to overcollection. Indeed, this trapping method is employed by the closely related N. inermis, which also produces highly viscous pitcher fluid. N. inermis, N. talangensis,

In the wild, N. jacquelineae often occurs sympatrically with N. izumiae. It is thus not surprising that it occasionally hybridises with this species. Pitchers of N. izumiae × N. jacquelineae are reddish in colour and are usually dominated by characteristics of N. jacquelineae. Specimens of a putative natural cross between N. dubia and N. jacquelineae have also been recorded.