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Post by Robert on Aug 23, 2007 21:25:28 GMT 8
Taken in the wild a year ago, an interesting form- rafflesiana var. nigropurpurea which was dark red evenly through the pitcher.  Taken from another plant recently, a comparison with the above which had slightly different colour,size and shape. Both plant had distinct leaves colour on the underside -dark red.   while most squatting form had flat or round tendril some had evolved into wavy ribbon-like running along the leaves. rafflesiana var. alata   and this one prefered to have a pinkish red peristome...mind boggling  ;D  |
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Post by zakhren on Aug 23, 2007 21:36:28 GMT 8
Wow those look fantastic! I love the ribbon like leaf~ And the rafflesiana var. nigropurpurea's colour is wow!
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Post by kltower on Aug 23, 2007 21:44:36 GMT 8
Robert,
Fantastic photos on the various rafflesiana form. I think one of MT raff offering is alata form.
The nigropurpurea form from Steward McPherson looked darker; is that right?
Choong
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Post by artificialive on Aug 23, 2007 21:45:09 GMT 8
Wowh..! the rafflesiana var. nigropurpurea color is very stunning! Not to mention the ribbon raff.. wish i can see it myself in the wild..  Borneo people are very lucky, isnt it Robert? |
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Post by lisham on Aug 23, 2007 22:07:09 GMT 8
Good god... Those are beautiful... Mind-boggling... I love the word...  |
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Post by Robert on Aug 23, 2007 22:09:13 GMT 8
Hi Zak,indeed the colour was stunning. The first time when i came across i thought it had dried up Choong,the lower have more intense dark red and were the same form taken by stewart though from different location. artificialive, you can fly over using "airasia" . Depending on what species you wanted to see, common lowlanders are easily spotted near kuching. |
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Post by David on Aug 23, 2007 22:24:07 GMT 8
Robert,
Everytime you post some new pictures of neps in the wild, it always never ceases to amaze me at their beauty and form. Man! I did not know rafflesianas can be so amazingly beautiful. Love the N. rafflesiana var. nigropurpurea... breathtaking. Thanks for posting.
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Post by rainforestguy on Aug 24, 2007 7:03:00 GMT 8
It is a crime to just sell tc rafflesiana. Every single plant in the wild is truly perfection in every meaning of the word. Seed grown allows us the diversity this species offers. The plants are telling us "why just wear the same colored clothes when you can be as individual as we are!" Three thumbs up, way up! Each shot shows a true species in perfect form!
M
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Post by David on Aug 24, 2007 12:18:11 GMT 8
Hi fellow cpers,
Just a gentle reminder that many species of Nepenthes plants are endangered with extinction while others are threatened with possible future extinction in the wild. There are local and international laws prohibiting the collection of endangered plants from the wild and trading of them. It would be wise to take note of these laws.
I've deleted a reply post in this thread from a member as it violates point 4 of the PETPITCHER GUIDELINES. I hope you understand. I am sure you did not meant it. Out of excitement for the plants we all forget sometimes. But I had to delete it and mention it so that new members to the hobby will be informed.
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Post by zakhren on Aug 24, 2007 12:32:51 GMT 8
Yes please do not take those plants. If it's collected it could be the end of the species...
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Post by Robert on Aug 25, 2007 0:10:28 GMT 8
David, neps in nature continued to evolve and it was not a surprise to come across such form. There are some interesting strurctural details of the pitchers and leaves as compared to the raff.typical form. a typical raff. form. Note the colourful lower and the cream upper. The leaves forming the tendril are flatten running towards the pitcher.  nigropurpurea had an even more flatten tendril that characterised the winged tendril alata form. It was observed young pitchers dispaly this but only when they get matured can the characteristics be confirmed.  Like the typical form they have equal leaf,tendril length and pitcher ratio.   nigro's upper and lower pitchers had stable colours and strips peristome upper pitcher  lower pitcher  Note: this site was situated inland about 3 miles towards south china sea and stretches the whole length towards the tip of south western Borneo. From where i parked my car sea waves can be heard so one can imagine the proximity. Page 119 " Nepenthes of Borneo " by charles clarke it was mentioned " several of these sites are under threat of development, putting this variety in some risk of extinction in the wild". It is 10 years now since the book was first published in 1997. soon the whole place will be totally bulldozed ,flatten and designated for development purposes ( very likely oil palm plantation ) as some 100 meters away the process had just begun.  Michael lo if you are reading this your favourite fish playground were gone.The streams are all mud and rotten timber debris  |
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Post by cactustts on Aug 25, 2007 0:30:58 GMT 8
Look at the last picture really make me sad.
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Post by rainforestguy on Aug 25, 2007 2:55:50 GMT 8
This is an unfortunate incident. Strangely the laws that protect the plants from extinction due to over-collecting says nothing about extinction due to development. This is an area where CITES has failed us. CITES seriously need major revision and as with all else, needs to be updated.
The taking of cuttings, seeds and even plants is really the best action to take. If I were there, I'd do it. Of course there will be others who would rather just let this happen because of such laws. But then again, that person doing the rescue would be looked upon as a hero in my judgement.
This picture tells us that it is OK to kill than to save.
M
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Post by zakhren on Aug 25, 2007 7:12:01 GMT 8
Well if it's gonna be developed take the d**n plants! Or at lest cuttings. Haha. I meant if the jungle would be left alone and they could live happily. If you are VERY sure the place is gonna be buldozed, take the plants and either relocate them to a nature sanctuary or care for them very very carefully and propagate to ensure the survival of the species. Tissue culture is the thing that has saved many carnivorous plants from extinction and once humans stop destroying nature it can be reintroduced with the millions of plants in circulation.
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Post by David on Aug 25, 2007 20:36:10 GMT 8
Sigh! So sad that this beauty will be gone soon. rainforestguy, I think it is not CITES that has failed us. I think they are doing a relatively good job if you look at the extent of coverage they have to do for all endangered species, ie. the entire world.
It is the people and administration of countries that has failed in this area. It is corruption, money and power that lead to this most of the time. But having said that, sometimes it is also difficult to protect every area that has a different form or species growing. Afterall, we humans propagate like crazy and with advancement of medical facilities and medicine, people live longer. It is no longer the "survival of the fittest" as the weak will also survive so to speak. So we are consuming the earth and people need a place to stay.
If that place is confirmed to be developed I agree that we should take seeds/cuttings/plants and distribute to as many growers as possible so that this unique form can be preserved. Perhaps if we want to take it another step further, we could forward plant material to nepenthes nurseries for them to tissue culture it and propagete it so that it will be available for future generations to come.
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Post by zakhren on Aug 26, 2007 0:38:17 GMT 8
If you can get seeds is best, but cuttings to make sure it wasn't pollinated by another form would be good too. If you're sure it's gonna be developed. Seeds can be sent to all over the world to keep the plant around.
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Post by yctan118 on Aug 26, 2007 8:31:07 GMT 8
Robert,
Thanks for sharing the pictures. I fully agree that CITES has not looked into destruction due to development. Not sure if anyone has read this book called "Orchid Fever"? It touches quite well on this topic.
In orchid world, we are faced with the same problem. But as you know, development really destroy the flora and fauna (Orchid, CP all included).
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Post by rainforestguy on Aug 26, 2007 10:58:08 GMT 8
While tc does have its place, too often as we have seen, it replaces seed growing material because we get so caught up in other things that occupy our time. This is when we lose the opportunity to make multiple original plants and maintain the genetic integrity of a particular species. Seed comes but once in a while. While tc does make it possible to have a healthy ratio of unrelated plants, these selections becomes even reduced as we keep just a few and sometimes we lose a clone to disease, contamination or just poor technique. Then we are left with the one clone. And then too often this clone becomes infertile through massive tc propagation to "save" this species. I seriously doubt that any of the current N. clipeata and even rajah tc clones are even fertile. This is not a good circumstance for a nepenthes species.
But many of our newer generation of nepenthes growers, and many of you who are in areas where seed, cutting and collected plants are available. Think of yourself as being the heros of nepenthes species. And while it may be too late for rajah and clipeata, you collections of rafflesiana, ampullaria, mirabilis and even gracilis will keep the genetic integrity of these species supreme! Everyone, value your seed origin plants for being distinct and truly valuable. They're not tc clones by the thousands, they're uniqely one of a kind.
M
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Post by cindy on Aug 31, 2007 14:40:55 GMT 8
Robert, have you seen nivea pitchers with wings? That would be nice too. |
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Post by Robert on Aug 31, 2007 17:34:41 GMT 8
cindy ,wings on the pitcher or the tendril?
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;D
Borneo people are very lucky, isnt it Robert? 
