Nepenthes rhombicaulis
| Nepenthes rhombicaulis | |
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| A lower pitcher of Nepenthes rhombicaulis from Simanuk-manuk | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Nepenthaceae |
| Genus: | Nepenthes |
| Species: | N. rhombicaulis |
| Binomial name | |
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Nepenthes rhombicaulis Sh.Kurata (1973) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Nepenthes rhombicaulis /nᵻˈpɛnθiːz ˌrɒmbᵻkˈɔːlɪs/ is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra. The specific epithet rhombicaulis is formed from the Latin words rhombicus, meaning "rhomboid", and caulis, "stem". It refers to the cross-sectional shape of the stem internodes.
Nepenthes rhombicaulis was first collected by Shigeo Kurata on March 29, 1972, on Mount Pangulubao at an altitude of between 1700 and 1900 m above sea level. The species was mentioned by name in a 1972 issue (volume 26, number 10, page 44) of The Heredity. It was formally described by Kurata the following year in the The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore. One of the original specimens, Kurata 4300, was designated as the holotype of the species and is deposited at the herbarium of the Nippon Dental College (NDC). An isotype is held at the National Herbarium of Singapore (SING).
Kurata's illustration of the type specimen shows a small apical appendage on the underside of the pitcher lid. However, Matthew Jebb and Martin Cheek pointed out that this feature is not present in the isotype held in Singapore. Kurata suggested that the appendage might be a developmental defect and of little significance. Observations made at the type locality by Charles Clarke and Ch'ien Lee seem to confirm this; while some wild plants exhibit this appendage, most do not.
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