Nepenthes tobaica

Species of pitcher plant from Sumatra

Nepenthes tobaica /n//ᵻ/'/p//ɛ//n//θ//iː//z// //t//oʊ/'/b//aɪ//k//ə/ is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra. It is particularly abundant around Lake Toba, after which it is named. Nepenthes tobaica is closely related to N. angasanensis, N. gracilis, N. mikei, and N. reinwardtiana.

The earliest known collection of N. tobaica was made by Johannes Elias Teijsmann on February 8, 1856, probably from the Batak regions. This specimen, which includes female floral material, is H. L. B. 908,155 1106. Nepenthes tobaica was formally described in 1928 by Dutch botanist B. H. Danser in his seminal monograph "The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies".

Nepenthes tobaica is a climbing plant. The stem can attain a height of up to 7 m and is up to 6 mm in diameter. Internodes are up to 25 cm long and often round in cross section. However, mature plants may have angular stems because of a groove that originates at the node and extends across most of the internode's length. Other parts of aerial pitchers are similar to their lower counterparts. Nepenthes tobaica is characterised by an uneven indumentum. Most mature vegetative parts are glabrous, although the midrib may bear persistent hairs. Groups of white, stellate hairs are often present in the leaf axils. The sepals of this species are densely tomentose, but the rest of the inflorescence has a sparser covering of short hairs. to the point where it is "difficult to avoid seeing it there". However, N. tobaica has not been recorded outside of Sumatra. In most of these species, the spots are displayed very rarely and only occur on individual pitchers.