Nepenthes stenophylla

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Nepenthes stenophylla

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Nepenthaceae
Genus:	Nepenthes
Species:	N. stenophylla

Binomial name

Nepenthes stenophylla
Mast. (1890)

Synonyms

Nepenthes curtisii
auct. non Mast.: J.H.Adam & Wilcock (1996)
?Nepenthes fucosa
S.Beckwith (1987) sphalm.typogr.
Nepenthes fusca
auct. non Danser: Sh.Kurata (1976)
Nepenthes stenophylla
auct. non Mast.: Danser (1928)
[=N. fallax]

Nepenthes stenophylla (pronounced /nəˈpɛnθiːz stɛnˈɒfɪlə/ or /stɛnəʊˈfɪlə/, from Greek: steno = narrow, phylla = leaves), or the Narrow-Leaved Pitcher-Plant,^[1] is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo.^[2]

There has been confusion surrounding this taxon and N. fallax ever since the latter was first described. N. fallax matches N. stenophylla in most respects, except for the shape of the lid; the type specimen of N. fallax has an orbiculate lid, whereas that of N. stenophylla is narrow. However, the description of N. stenophylla was based on a plant raised from seed in a greenhouse in England, and the shape of the lid could be an aberrant characteristic resulting from artificial growing conditions.^[2]

In his seminal monograph "The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies", B. H. Danser treated N. fallax as a heterotypic synonym of N. stenophylla.^[3] This interpretation was supported by a number of subsequent authors.^[4]^[2]

Jan Schlauer, however, considers the taxa as two separate species based on the shape of the lid.^[2]^[5] He suspects the taxon originally named as N. stenophylla was later named again as N. faizaliana.^{[citation needed]} N. fallax and N. faizaliana are well defined and are easy to tell apart; N. faizaliana is an intermediate species with a very restricted range and is only found on limestone-based soils, while N. fallax is a widespread highland species. There is no current resolution to this debate. Hopefully, future DNA studies comparing these three taxa will help resolve the issue.

[edit] References

^ Phillipps, A. & A. Lamb 1996. Pitcher-Plants of Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Clarke, C.M. 1997. Nepenthes of Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.
^ Danser, B.H. 1928. The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies. Bulletin de Jardin de Botanique, Buitenzorg, Série III, 9(3–4): 249–438.
^ Jebb, M.H.P. & M.R. Cheek 1997. A Skeletal Revision of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae). Blumea 42(1): 1–106.
^ Schlauer, J. 2006. Nepenthes fallax. Carnivorous Plant Database.

Clarke et al. (2000). Nepenthes stenophylla. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006. Listed as Least Concern (LR/lc v2.3).