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Biology

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Pitcher plants are dioecious meaning that male and female flowers grow on separate plants (4), and only begin to flower once the upper pitchers are produced (2). During the early evening and night, the flowers produce large amounts of nectar which evaporates by the morning. This nectar attracts flies during the early evening and moths at night to aid pollination. Once fertilised a fruit usually takes about three months to develop and ripen. The fruits each contain between 100 and 500 very light, winged, seeds, measuring up to 30 millimetres long which are thought to be dispersed by the wind (2) (4). Despite enormous numbers of seeds being produced, only a few manage to germinate and only a fraction of those survive to maturity (2). Carnivorous pitcher plants are adapted to grow in soils low in nutrients. Although the plants do gain some nutrition through the soil, and energy through photosynthesis, they supplement this with a diet of invertebrates, usually consisting of ants, cockroaches, centipedes, flies and beetles. Insects are attracted to the pitchers by their bright colours and nectar, which is secreted by glands situated on the lid and the peristome of the pitcher. The insects fall into the acidic fluid at the base of the pitcher and, unable to escape, they drown. Digestive enzymes are then released to break down the captured prey (4). Despite the hostile environment of the pitchers, they can be home to number of animals, such as the red crab spider (Misumenops nepenthicola). The red crab spider ambushes insects that crawl into the pitcher and preys upon other insects, such as mosquitoes, as they emerge from larvae that live in the pitcher fluid (2).
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Conservation

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Nepenthes clipeata does not grow in any protected area or national park. There is also no local awareness of its threatened status (2). Although listed under Appendix II on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which limits the international export of this species (3), trade is very difficult to regulate. There is no requirement for internationally traded Nepenthes to be identified down to species level and plants simply labelled as Nepenthes accounted for 94 percent of all exported Nepenthes plants between 1988 and 1993. This needs to be remedied and urgent attention is required to close other loopholes (2). Nepenthes clipeata is now being cloned from tissue culture helping to reduce the impact of private collections on the wild population (7). Detailed field surveys are required to fully assess the exact status of this species, before it disappears completely from the face of Mount Kelam (2).
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Description

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The tropical pitcher plants of Asia (Nepenthes) are amongst the largest and most spectacular of all carnivorous plants. Nepenthes clipeata is a red-stemmed vine that crawls along the ground (2), with fine roots that are attached to a creeping rhizome (4). From coiled tendrils hang modified pitcher-shaped leaves, into which insects and other invertebrates fall. Nepenthes species usually have two or three different types of pitcher, generally known as upper and lower pitchers (4). The cone-shaped pitchers of Nepenthes clipeata are white with red blotches (2), and contain an acidic fluid, secreted by the many glands, which cover the inside surface of the lower half of the pitcher (4). The smooth and waxy upper inner surface of the pitcher makes it impossible for captive insects to gain a foothold (4), and a ridge of hardened tissue lining the mouth of the pitcher, the peristome, bears downward pointing teeth, also preventing insects from escaping (2). A lid overhangs the mouth of the pitcher preventing rain water from diluting the pitcher fluid (2).
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Habitat

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Nepenthes clipeata grows in crevices along with grasses and Sphagnum moss species on the sheer granite cliffs of Mount Kelam, at altitudes between 600 and 800 metres (2).
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Range

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Found in the Kalimantan region of Eastern Borneo, where it is restricted to the slopes of Mount Kelam (6).
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Status

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Classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List 2007 (1) and listed on Appendix II of CITES (3).
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Threats

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Nepenthes clipeata is in serious danger of becoming extinct in the wild. This species is prized by collectors and virtually all accessible plants have been removed. In 1995, only 15 known plants remained. It has an extremely restricted distribution making it vulnerable to habitat loss and degradation, and catastrophic events such as drought and fire. Recently, much of the vegetation on Mount Kelam was burned, damaging the habitat and further reducingthe ability of Nepenthes clipeata to recover from over collection (2).
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Nepenthes clipeata

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Nepenthes clipeata (/nɪˈpɛnθz ˌklɪpiˈɑːtə/; from Latin clipeus "round shield", referring to the leaf shape), or the shield-leaved pitcher-plant,[3] is a tropical pitcher plant known only from the near-vertical granite cliff faces of Mount Kelam in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It has an elevational distribution between approximately 600 and 800 m.

Nepenthes clipeata is perhaps the most endangered of all Nepenthes species, with only an estimated 15 plants remaining in the wild as of 1995[4] (although see N. pitopangii and N. rigidifolia).

Discovery

Nepenthes clipeata was first collected in 1894 by Johannes Gottfried Hallier, who summited Mount Kelam 5 times between 30 January and 13 February.[5] Hallier wrote an account of his discovery, which appeared in B. H. Danser's 1928 monograph, "The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies", and has been translated as follows:

After once again climbing a steep slope with Gleichenia thickets, one stands suddenly beneath the high enclosing rock wall of the mountain ring. The smooth water-washed stone seamed with water channels shows no variation in structure, and it appears almost as if the whole mountain was composed of a single monstrous block of rock. On this wall has been erected the steep 45 metre high rattan ladder; it is secured only at the bottom, in the middle and in the solid earth at the top, the rest lying free against the stone... Just above the middle of the ladder a small thin patch of humus is found, just sufficient to allow one to stand and rest for a moment. Both here, and at the top of the ladder a Nepenthes plant with unusually large pitchers has established itself. In the basal part, the pitchers are expanded into a jug shape. They are thus able, on the one hand, to take up a large quantity of water, and on the other, to hinder the escape of insects which have fallen inside, by means of the relatively narrow neck. [translated from the original Dutch[6] and German[2][7] in Pitcher Plants of Borneo.][8]

Description

Nepenthes clipeata found in the Mount Kelam area.
Nepenthes clipeata found in the Mount Kelam area.
Nepenthes clipeata holotype (Hallier 2344).
Nepenthes clipeata holotype (Hallier 2344).

Nepenthes clipeata is characterised by its peltate leaves, whereby the tendril joins the underside of the lamina before the apex. Pitchers are large and can be up to 30 cm high. They are globose at the base and slightly infundibulate (funnel-shaped) in the upper part. The species produces only one type of pitcher and the stem does not climb, reaching only 2 m in length. The inflorescence is small, rarely exceeding 25 cm. All parts of the plant are densely covered with an indumentum of long, brown hairs.[9]

B. H. Danser wrote of this species in his monograph as follows:[2]

"N. clipeata is one of the most aberrant and striking species of its genus. Especially the almost orbicular leaves, the thick, short, never curved tendrils, which are inserted far from the apex, the peculiar-shaped pitcher without wings and the strongly vaulted lid are very remarkable. A leaf form as aberrant as this, only occurs in the Philippine species N. truncata. It is not known, in what manner N. clipeata grows. The following seems probable to me. The plant does not climb. The short and robust stems, petioles and tendrils prove, that the mentioned specimens are found in an open place. I can not imagine, in what manner the pitchers have been placed when the leaves were spread horizontally. Therefore I suggest, that the plant has grown against the perpendicular wall of the G. Kelam, and that the leaves stood vertically, the pitchers behind it. It is, however, improbable, that N. clipeata can grow only against perpendicular walls, but it is not clear, what may be the manner of growing in other habitats."

No forms or varieties of N. clipeata have been described.[9]

Conservation

During the 1980s, plant collectors began to visit Mount Kelam with increased frequency, placing pressure on wild populations of N. clipeata. Local guides also started to collect specimens for their villages, particularly those growing near the base of the mountain. Many of these plants did not survive and so more were harvested to replace them. Additional habitat stresses were caused by the El Niño of 1997 to 1998 and the resulting droughts and forest fires. The combination of these factors contributed to the rapid decline of N. clipeata on Mount Kelam.[10] In 1995, it was thought that only around 15 plants remained in the wild,[4] while in 2001 Charles Clarke gave an even lower estimate of 2–6 specimens.[11] However, a 2010 study found 260 plants at 749–874 m altitude, scattered across 45 coordinates on Mount Kelam.[12] The authors of the study noted that most of the observed specimens grew on inaccessible cliff sides. Of the flowering specimens seen by the authors, the majority were male.[12] A 2016 multi-day expedition to Indonesian Borneo by geographer and writer Stewart McPherson found only seven specimens, four adult and three juvenile.[13]

Specimen in the Bogor Botanical Gardens

Despite its rarity, N. clipeata is officially listed on CITES Appendix II and was until recently considered Data Deficient by the IUCN. There is now thought to be little hope for the long-term survival of this species in the wild and the Nepenthes clipeata Survival Project (NcSP) has been set up by the International Carnivorous Plant Society (ICPS) to facilitate ex situ conservation of the species.[14][15][16] It is estimated that there are only three or four genetically distinct lines of "white market" (legally collected) plants in cultivation.[10] There is also an ongoing N. clipeata in situ conservation project started in October 2011 by Irwan Lovadi and supported by The Rufford Small Grants Foundation.[17] It follows on from a similar initiative started by Lovadi in February 2010, which was also funded by The Rufford Foundation.[12]

In 2010, the Rare Nepenthes Collection was established with the aim of conserving 4 of the most threatened Nepenthes species: N. aristolochioides, N. clipeata, N. khasiana, and N. rigidifolia.[18][19][20]

Natural hybrids

The following natural hybrids involving N. clipeata have been recorded.

References

  1. ^ Clarke, C.M.; Lee, C. (2014). "Nepenthes clipeata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T39652A19631488. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T39652A19631488.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Danser, B.H. 1928. 43. 9. Nepenthes clipeata DANS., spec. nova. . In: The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg, Série III, 9(3–4): 249–438.
  3. ^ Phillipps, A. & A. Lamb 1996. Pitcher-Plants of Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.
  4. ^ a b Simpson, R.B. 1995. Nepenthes and conservation. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 12: 111-118.
  5. ^ van Steenis-Kruseman, M.J., et al. 2006. Cyclopaedia of Malesian Collectors: Johann Gottfried ('Hans') Hallier. Nationaal Herbarium Nederland.
  6. ^ (in Dutch) Hallier, H. 1895. Rapport over de botanische tochten in Borneo's Westerafdeeling gedurende de Borneo-expeditie 1893–1894. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 9(3): 406–449.
  7. ^ (in German) Hallier, H. 1896. Die botanische Erforschung Mittelborneos. Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift 11(9): 75–79, 85–89, 97–101, 109–114.
  8. ^ a b Phillipps, A., A. Lamb & C.C. Lee 2008. Pitcher Plants of Borneo. Second Edition. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.
  9. ^ a b c d Clarke, C.M. 1997. Nepenthes of Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu.
  10. ^ a b Cantley, R., C.M. Clarke, J. Cokendolpher, B. Rice & A. Wistuba 2004. Nepenthes clipeata Survival Project Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. International Carnivorous Plant Society.
  11. ^ Cheek, M.R. & M.H.P. Jebb 2001. Nepenthaceae. Flora Malesiana 15: 1–157.
  12. ^ a b c Conservation of critically endangered Nepenthes clipeata on Mount Kelam. The Rufford Small Grants Foundation.
  13. ^ Jones, Lucy (15 September 2016). "Meet the man on a mission to save carnivorous plants". BBC News. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  14. ^ Cantley, R., C.M. Clarke, J. Cokendolpher, B. Rice & A. Wistuba 2005. Nepenthes clipeata Survival Project. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 34(4): 116–120.
  15. ^ Rice, B. 2005. Nepenthes clipeata conservation. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 34(4): 115.
  16. ^ Rice, B. 2007. What is the Nepenthes clipeata Survival Program? Archived 12 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine The Carnivorous Plant FAQ.
  17. ^ Promoting the conservation of critically endangered Nepenthes clipeata in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The Rufford Small Grants Foundation.
  18. ^ Ziemer, B. 2010. Exciting conservation news: the Rare Nepenthes Collection project! Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 39(3): 67.
  19. ^ Nepenthes clipeata. Ark of Life.
  20. ^ Bourke, G. 2010. A new conservation initiative: the Rare Nepenthes Collection project. Captive Exotics Newsletter 1(2): 5–6.
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Nepenthes clipeata: Brief Summary

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Nepenthes clipeata (/nɪˈpɛnθiːz ˌklɪpiˈɑːtə/; from Latin clipeus "round shield", referring to the leaf shape), or the shield-leaved pitcher-plant, is a tropical pitcher plant known only from the near-vertical granite cliff faces of Mount Kelam in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It has an elevational distribution between approximately 600 and 800 m.

Nepenthes clipeata is perhaps the most endangered of all Nepenthes species, with only an estimated 15 plants remaining in the wild as of 1995 (although see N. pitopangii and N. rigidifolia).

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