Nepenthes kerrii
| Nepenthes kerrii | |
|---|---|
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| Lower pitchers of Nepenthes kerrii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Nepenthaceae |
| Genus: | Nepenthes |
| Species: | N. kerrii |
| Binomial name | |
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Nepenthes kerrii M.Catal. & Kruetr. (2010) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Nepenthes kerrii is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Tarutao National Marine Park in southern Thailand, where it grows at elevations of 400–500 m above sea level. This species is thought to be most closely related to N. kongkandana.
The specific epithet kerrii refers to Irish medical doctor Arthur Francis George Kerr, who made the first known herbarium collection of this species.
The first known collection of N. kerrii was made by Arthur Francis George Kerr in 1928. This specimen, Kerr 14127, was collected at an elevation of around 500 m from what is now Tarutao National Marine Park, Satun Province, Thailand. It is deposited at the Bangkok Herbarium (BK).Italian naturalist Marcello Catalano came across this plant material in 2006 and recognised it as a previously unknown taxon. The specimen's label identified it as "N. gracilis" and appeared to state that it was collected at 1500 m (it was later realised that it actually read "c. 500 m"). In 2007, Catalano travelled to Tarutao but was unable to relocate the taxon in the wild. With the help of local rangers, however, he was able to determine that it grew in a certain remote area of the park. Several months later, the rangers organised an expedition on their own and were successful in finding the plants. They sent photographs of the taxon to Catalano and these convinced him that it represented a new species.
In January 2008, Catalano made two attempts to reach the site discovered by the rangers. Both proved unsuccessful due to the time and effort involved. That same month Catalano met with Stewart McPherson on the Thai mainland and informed him of the findings. McPherson then travelled to Tarutao National Marine Park on his own. After what he described as "the worst treck of my life", McPherson succeeded in relocating the plants. He returned with seeds and photographs, mostly of the upper pitchers.
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Wikipedia