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Nepenthes uppers or not?

Okay, so all the N. 'Effulgent Koto' pitchers I've seen have stripes on the peristome. However, mine hasn't made a single striped peristome pitcher. So I just figured they'll get their stripes when they get bigger. Well, they're getting pretty big and still no stripes. I have two of these plants, and the smaller one is now working on it's first pitcher. I have to say I'm noticing a little difference in pitcher traits.

Here's the pitchers being produced by the larger plant. Uppers, or no?
???

100_7927-1.jpg


Now here's an upcoming pitcher on each plant. The one on the left is the larger plant's pitcher, and the one on the right is the smaller plant's. Kind of makes me wonder..

100_8073.jpg


I think the only way to know for sure without professional opinions is by waiting for this new pitcher to open. If the first pitcher on the smaller plant is striped, well.. mystery solved. :0o:
 
I wouldn't say those are upper pitchers yet, unless the tendril has made a loop. They might be intermediate pitchers though.
 
I didn't know there was such thing as "intermediate" pitchers. Is that like, between lowers and uppers? Wouldn't those be called inbetweeners? :lol:
 
Yup, intermediate pitchers are produced briefly, and are a combination between the lowers and uppers. Have any of the tendrils formed loops? Upper pitcher form on those tendrils, as they try to grab stuff and climb.
 
nope.. no loops. Produced briefly huh.. It's been a year.
 
I still think they are still in the lower pitcher stage.
 
then.. WHERE'S MY DARN STRIPES!?!? I WANT them.. ~whimper~
 
My Nepenthes 'Effulgent Koto' produces pale yellow upper pitchers with no peristome striping and no looped tendrils. I would bet that your plant is in the intermediate-upper stage as well. "Intermediate" pitchers do, indeed, exist as well... I've noticed them as my N. 'Miranda' and N. maxima-dark x talangensis pitchers transitioned from lowers into uppers.
 
You can identify uppers by wich way the tendril is attached to the pitcher, with uppers it usually goes to the back, not to the side or front.
 
  • #10
You can identify uppers by wich way the tendril is attached to the pitcher, with uppers it usually goes to the back, not to the side or front.

That's what I thought as well.. which is another reason these pitchers had me so confused. So again, where are my friggin' stripes. :lol:
 
  • #11
Stripes? Unlikely to have stripes.. I don't recall seeing any N. mirabilis with stripes and most 'N. thorelii' don't either. I would say that if you don't see stripes by this size then you probably won't.
 
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  • #12
  • #13
Stripes? Unlikely to have stripes.. I don't recall seeing any N. mirabilis with stripes and most 'N. thorelii' don't either. I would say that if you don't see stripes by this size then you probably won't.

Echinostoma has stripes :p
 
  • #14
Echinostoma has stripes :p
I just new someone couldn't resist.. I am well aware yes. Since I grow this variety with stripes. BUT
I said N. mirabills NOT N. mirabilis var. echinostoma didn't I??

Mass,
Yes I did see those photos. So clearly there are some clones that have stripes. I think the majority would not however. All the other photos in the CP Photo finder I looked at didn't have stripes. Not sure where you got yours vs Max and Sam. It is also possible that Sam's plant he posted as N. mirabilis x maxima, could indeed be that cross and not N. efflugent koto. Hard to say from the photo of a single upper pitcher. His plant seems to show much more of a N. maxima upper pitcher shape.

My question is did K. Kawase intend N. 'Efflugent Koto' to be the name of a single selected plant or to be used as a cross name? And since then, others have remade the hybrid over the years and now there are an assortment of plants floating around all using the same name.
 
  • #15
I thought you did not mean echino, but you did say "any" ;)
 
  • #17
Yeah, thanks bro.. just rub it in. :rolleyes:
 
  • #18
Any time my friend ;) jk, I just sent you a pm.
 
  • #19
I grew this plant labeled N. 'Efflugent Koto' for years and it looked like yours Mass no matter what kinda light I had it under or how tall I let it get, it was always yellow with a pink blush and pink wings. They never looked like the pics that show the plant with not only a striped peristome but also spotted pitchers. My guess is there are two different hybrids represented between your pic and the one posted by Antechron.
 
  • #20
HAHA!! Just as I suspected.. Here is the first pitcher the smaller plant produced.

STRIPES! So the other pitchers produced by the larger plant are actually intermediates, rather than uppers? :scratch:

100_8236.jpg
 
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