Nepenthes aristolochioides | |
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An upper pitcher of N. aristolochioides | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Nepenthaceae |
Genus: | Nepenthes |
Species: | N. aristolochioides |
Binomial name | |
Nepenthes aristolochioides Jebb & Cheek (1997) |
Nepenthes aristolochioides /nɪˈpɛnθiːz ærɪˌstɒloʊkiˈɔɪdiːz/ is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra, where it grows at elevations of 1800–2500 m above sea level. It has an extremely unusual pitcher morphology, having an almost vertical opening to its traps. It is critically endangered by overcollection.
The specific epithet aristolochioides is formed from the genus name Aristolochia and the Latin ending -oides, meaning "resembling". It refers to the similarity that the pitchers of this species bear, in both shape and pigmentation, to the specialised flowers of Aristolochia.
Nepenthes aristolochioides was first collected by Willem Meijer on August 5, 1956. The holotype, Meijer 6542, was collected on that date from Mount Tujuh (Tudjuh) in Jambi at an elevation of 2000 m. It is deposited at the National Herbarium of the Netherlands (L) in Leiden, but is in relatively poor condition. An isotype is held at Herbarium Bogoriense (BO), the herbarium of the Bogor Botanical Gardens (formerly the Herbarium of the Buitenzorg Botanic Gardens) in Java.