N. fusca tambunan road form - it's a boy

swords · Jun 7, 2004

The heatwave has caused a couple of the flowers in the fusca to finally open! It looks like it's a boy because it has a small column with a structure ontop. As far as I know (from botanical drawings) females have no column at all. Here's the best pic could get at the moment (they opened since this afternoon).

If anyone would like some pollen to try on their female plants please email or PM me! I don't know when the pollen will be ripe though. I'll be paging through my books for the info if it's in there... I assume there should be much pollen available since the flowers will open in succession and I've got two stalks of apx 100 each!

Here's a pic of the newest N. fusca Tambunan Road form intermediate pitcher about 18 cm high, my tank is becoming a jungle - see the hand moving other stuff!

While I was in there I also snapped a pic of this intermediate/upper N. hamata pitcher!

This pitcher is 16 cm now and will maybe get a bit larger as it opens. The teeth inside the newly opened lid are much fewer in number and much larger and hook-like when I peeked in through the opening! Pics soon!

AaronJ · Jun 7, 2004

VERY nice Josh. Make sure we get a nice 'teeth' shot from that N. hamat when ready.

Looks like you are growing out doors? Is that all year?

Aaron.

swords · Jun 8, 2004

I will for sure be showing off that N. hamata! I wish it would flower, it's got two enormous vines over a meter each...

I'm glad you get the "outdoorsy" impression but I actually grow indoors in a big old homemade highland chamber (see details of my setup in recent post "this would be a cool highland chamber"). However, the chamber is becoming smaller every day with vines crawling across the lid glass and pushing against the walls.

I should've taken a shot of the jungle's current look with tendils all tied around eachother and other plants. Moving all this stuff to the new chamber (when built) will probably be a total holocaust!

AaronJ · Jun 8, 2004

AH! of course. Sorry, I just did not put 2 and 2 together and connect the posts.

Aaron.

Jan · Jun 8, 2004

Hi swords,

unfortunately i don´t think that you have N. hamata there.

I´m no expert in taxonomy but i think it is a hybrid with N. tentaculata which also grows on Sulawesi.

This is my tentaculata (Sulawesi):

best regards

Jan

Tony Paroubek · Jun 8, 2004

Swords picture is kinda misleading because of the angle. Maybe later he will post a front view. I have seen previous pitchers and it is N. hamata. Sure does look similar from that angle, to your very nice N. tentaculata though Jan!
Tony

pond boy · Jun 8, 2004

Nice plants Swords! That hamata is beutiful! Btw. Nice teniculata Jan!

swords · Jun 8, 2004

Here's a pic I took tonight of the teeth through the unopened lid on the N. hamata:

As far as a direct hybrid goes, most people are of the opinion that crossing a toothed (or otherwise exaggerated) peristomed species with a non-exaggerated species generally does not create the same spectacular perisotme. Also the other charachteristics are holding with the double ended hairs and extreme vining habit.
According to literature I paged through today it is basically these teeth/plates on the peristome, double ended hairs on lid and wings and the rapid vining habit of N. hamata which distinguishes it most noticeably from N. tentaculata (nice pic by the way).