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The Flora
Sumatran Flora
Nepenthes ampullaria
Distribution: Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, New Guinea
Altitudinal distribution: 0-1000 m
Typical habitats: Light forests, secondary habitats, peat swamp forest, degraded swamp forest and kerangas areas. Usually found on the forest ground half burried in rotting foliage.
Pitcher size: up to 10 cm high, 7 cm wide The terminus "pitcher plants" is used for a number of different carnivorous plants with pitcher-like leaves. But these features have evolved independently in several genera belonging to different families of plants. Nepenthes are the tropical pitcher plants of the Old World. It's the only genus of the Nepenthaceae family. Higher systematic categories and their relations to the New Worlds Pitcher plants (Sarraceniaceae) are still discussed. The “pitchers” are in fact specially adapted leaves, which fill with water and special chemicals designed to attract, drown and digest small insects. This is an adaptation which allows these plants to survive on very poor soils. The prey found in the pitchers consists not only of insects, but also on plant material. The pitchers seem not to be very attractive for insects. Instead the open mouth collects whatever falls from the forest canopy, animals, feces and plant parts.
Nepenthes gracilis
Distribution: Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi
Typical habitats: wet, open areas on every soil, degraded areas
Pitcher size: up to 10 cm high, 3 cm wide
Nepenthes rafflesiana
(giant form up to 40 cm!) Nepenthes rafflesiana are the largest and most spectacular of the pitcher-plants commonly seen at Bako. The pitchers can grow to over 30cm long, and are brightly coloured (usually red and white, sometimes (rarely) pure red). They also have large striped “wings” on the sides of the pitchers, fancy “lips” on the mouth of the pitcher, and large lids – making them the Cadillac of pitcher plants. The species name rafflesiana comes from Sir Stamford Raffles, the British founder of Singapore, in whose honour the plant was named. An unusually variable plant. While only few forms are formally described pitcher shape and colour can vary so wide that the extremes look like completely different species. Lower and upper pitchers differ very much.
Endangered species! Though some Nepenthes species are quite common within their distribution range, many others are seriously endangered species. All species of the genus Nepenthes are protected by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). It is illegal to collect them from their natural habitats and to export or trade them without permission. Despite this collectors still hunt for rare species, variations or hybrids.
For this reason we will definitely not trade any plants nor will we tell the places we found them to anybody. For the plants sake we hope for your understanding.
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