Plants & Botany

Nepenthes of Borneo (Reprint)

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Description

The pitcher plants of Borneo are much more than a colourful collection of unusual plants. They trap and devour animals and provide homes for others, even making convenient daytime roosting sites for bats. Few plants can boast such a variety of bizarre features, but the Nepenthes,of Borneo don’t stop there—there are many other facets of their biology that we still know very little about. On top of that, their main home is the steaming tropical forests of Borneo: on the summits of remote mountains, high up in the tops of trees, and even by the sides of roads in the major towns.

This book investigates the Nepenthes of Borneo in detail, treating each of the species, their ecology, where and how they grow, and how they survive, and discussing the threats they face. Charles Clarke has been studying these plants for the last ten years, and has travelled to all corners of Borneo to research this book. A number of these plants are illustrated here for the first time, and much of the information presented is new to science. Scientists and lay people with an interest in the natural history of Borneo will find this book essential reading.

 

Table of Contents

  • Preface ix

    • Chapter 1: Pitcher Plants and Borneo

  • Introduction 1
  • The pitcher plants 1
  • Borneo 5
  • Our changing perspective of Nepenthes 7

    • Chapter 2: The Nepenthes Plant

  • The structure of the plant 9
  • The stem and leaves 9
  • The tendrils 12
  • The flowers, fruits and seeds 12
  • Pitcher structure and operation 15
  • The pitcher and its components 15
  • The digestive process 17
  • Pitcher development and life span 18
  • Case Study 1: Pitcher life span in four lowland Nepenthes species 19
  • Case Study 2: Pitcher development in Nepenthes bicalcarata 20
  • Concluding remarks 22

    • Chapter 3: The Ecology of Nepenthes

  • Habitats 23
  • Catching Prey (by Jonathan Moran) 33
  • Case Study 3: The Prey spectrum of Nepenthes rafflesiana (by Jonathan Moran) 34
  • Case Study 4: A unique nutrient-trapping mechanism in Nepenthes lowii? 36
  • Case Study 5: Has Nepenthes albomarginata evolved to target termites as a major source of prey? 38
  • The pitcher as a habitat for animals 39
  • The pitcher inhabitants 40
  • Food webs 41
  • How does the infauna interact with the plant? 42
  • Other interactions between Nepenthes and animals 44
  • Case Study 6: The swimming ants of Nepenthes bicalcarata 46
  • Concluding remarks 52

    • Chapter 4: The Nepenthes species of Borneo

  • Early discoveries and descriptions 53
  • Macfarlane’s and Danser’s contributions 54
  • Recent additions and revisions 54
  • Some problems with the taxanomy of Nepenthes 55
  • The Bornean species 57
  • Key to the Nepenthes species in Borneo 58
  • The descriptions 62
  • The species 62
  • Dubious species and erroneous records 138
  • Undescribed and incompletely diagnosed taxa 140

    • Chapter 5: The Natural Hybrids

  • When, how and where do natural hybrids occur? 143
  • Case Study 7: The invertebrate fauna of the natural hybrid, Nepenthes bicalcara x N. gracilis 144
  • When can hybrids be considered species? 146
  • Complex hybrids 147
  • Noteworthy natural hybrids 148

    • Chapter 6: The Future for Nepenthes in Borneo

  • Introduction 169
  • The conservation status of Nepenthes 169
  • N. rajah and N. clipeata—two contrasting case studies in conservation 172
  • Habitat destruction 172
  • The collection of Nepenthes from the wild 174
  • The siatuation in Borneo 175
  • Future discoveries and revisions 177
  • References 178
  • Glossary 185
  • Appendix A: List of known natural hybrids from Borneo 189
  • Appendix B: IUCN criteria for classifying the conservation status of plants and animals 191
  • Acknowledgements 195
  • General Index 197
  • Index to Scientific Names 203

Product details

N012(B)Published in 2006 / 223 pages / Language: English / 1100g / 7.7 x 10.3 x 1 inches / ISBN: 983-812-015-4
Nepenthes of Borneo (Reprint)