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Alata Identification

Hi all,

Re. the attached picture, can anyone spot the variant/lineage? It's been driving me insane trying to figure it out, and what's worse in the month that I've had it in the greenhouse, it's gone from almost entirely green to having the yellowing peristome, red wings & veins and spotted hood. So every time I look I may as well be looking for a different variant, infuriating!

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://instagram.com/p/0yx7XnvdHR/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">An Alata variant of some kind.</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by RL (@bluemutiny) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-03-29T01:37:49+00:00">Mar 28, 2015 at 6:37pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
 
It appears to be a typical garden store N. x ventrata, which is a hybrid between N. ventricosa and N. alata.
 
I wouldn't bank on that just yet. It could be the famous "x ventrata" but with a pitcher at that stage of development it may also be one of the graciliflora variants.
 
This plant is more than likely x ventrata. The peristome looks a bit too robust to be pure alata or graciliflora. Another pitcher or 2 should give it away for sure. The source may also be the answer, where did you get it ?
 
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90% sure that's Ventrata. The peristome and lid is ventricosa-influenced IMO, and gracilliflora is more angular, defined, with (generally) a smaller "butt".
 
The pitcher base looks too bulbous to be graciliflora, and the peristome has scalloping and ribbing that suggests ventricosa parentage. I'm putting my money on ventrata.
 
The bottom of the pitchers on N.graciliflora would actually be more bulbous than the plant pictured above, not less so.





 
This plant is more than likely x ventrata. The peristome looks a bit too robust to be pure alata or graciliflora. Another pitcher or 2 should give it away for sure. The source may also be the answer, where did you get it ?

No doubt it's some kind of Ventrata and thanks for the pictures :) The plant is just over 18" tall and some more pitchers are coming out now but it's lacking the Vent. colouring & bulbous butt I'd expect from a direct cross. Would a Ventrata x Graciliflora be more likely than, say, Ventrata x Alata?

I was from a nursery that supplies garden centres. I contacted them and they said it was a "Nepenthe" (no S... even on their labels, grrr) Alata cross created by their supplier and grown via tissue culture to keep them identical. I doubt I'll get any more out of them as most places are precious about their suppliers.
 
  • #10
With the provenance information, I think it's safe to say that the plant is N. x ventrata. Nepenthes x "ventrata" is a horticultural cross of Nepenthes ventricosa and Nepenthes alata. It is by far the most common Nepenthes found in cultivation and one of the very few regularly available at garden centers.
 
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  • #11
And to add to the confusion, the "alata" parent used probably was the pink graciliflora that is commonly grown, hence the smooth, wingless and bulbous pitchers the hybrid produces. A lot of people say it's "ventrata x alata," but it's probably the just the primary hybrid.
 
  • #12
hahah, oh my.

hcarlton, you posted a picture a while back of a Ventrata, the peristome being the obvious thing there in that it is very Ventricosa. Graciliflora certainly looks like a good candidate for a cross.

One thing that popped into my head this morning was, perhaps, if this plant I have was an intermediate cutting off a vining mother Ventrata and that's why it has lost most of what I'm expecting from a Ventrata and looking more like a weird horticultural medley. Again I have absolutely no doubt it's Ventrata, but it just doesn't seem like most things I can find on the 'net. I have some rooted basal shoots from it, but heading into winter now so might not see any results for a while. Grasping at straws, probably!
 
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  • #13
Your pitcher looks like it's still in a young stage. Young pitchers tend to deform more readily than fully mature pitchers, or at least show traits not typical to the species/hybrid.
Also, as for the "ventrata" pic, my most recent post shows a pitcher with a very notable peristome that reveals the ventricosa parentage.
 
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