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Tell me everything you know about Nepenthes "Miranda"

So, folks, I know it might seem a bit mundane. It's so common, after all, but I'm curious about a couple things.

The CP Photo Finder notes: When N. "Miranda" was first introduced, it was sold as N. maxima "Miranda". The actual parents are unknown, but Vic Brown writes “thought by most growers to be N. x [x mixta*maxima]; ... other growers think this plant is a pure N. x mixta, possibly var. superba”

And this thread seems to indicate that there were several waves of cultivars released with the same name "Miranda," one of which was female. Can anyone substantiate that information by the user rainforest posting on Oct 16, 2008, 12:49pm? Is Deroose Plants the origin of this cultivar? I've tried to contact them but have not heard back.

I know most of the plants out there labelled "Miranda" are sterile male clones. I just had one flower (originally from Deroose), so I'll do chromosome squashes of the anthers and we'll finally see whether or not the cultivar is sterile because it is triploid, as some have suggested.

So... you tell me. What do you know about "Miranda"? As far as I know, there's been nothing published and the cultivar has never been registered with the ICPS, which is a shame given its popularity.

Cheers,
Ryan
 
According to Nepenthes Around the House, this plant probably originated from deroose, and is rumored to be mixta x maxims, there are apparently several clones around, but all are male...
 
The one I have is definitely N x mixta x maxima. It has a lower spur insertion than N. x mixta and has a reduced lid appendage.
 
Thanks! Anyone remember when Deroose started releasing these plants? They must have had it in development before then. And now I'm beginning to wonder if they intentionally induced polyploidy for some reason, if that's the case.
 
Deroose lists it as N. (maxima x northian) x maxima on their website, or at least they did about a year ago. Mine is flowering now and is definitely male, but I have no way to know whether it is sterile or not since I don't have any female flowers in bloom now.
 
I have several all males; however, they are not sterile. I have two different batches of seeds growing out with Miranda as the daddy....

I hope this helps.
 
Rumor has it that there is a large female Miranda in some plant display observatory . . .
 
Miranda is a great plant, gets humungous pitchers I had 14" lowers on mine under the 400W metal halide lamp.

The males of this cross are sterile, the pollen is worthless. If you discover a female "Miranda" supposedly they can bear decent seed as I've seen crosses supposedly made using "Miranda" as pod parent but the nursery sold male Mirandas (the commonly available ones) are all proven to be sterile as far as TF members experiences go. Both mine and other TFers crosses using male Miranda pollen all ended in dud seed.

Still a nice plant to earn your Nep growing wings with, likes high heat, high light and high humidity and lotsa water.

BTW, Deroose will not unveil what plants they use to make their crosses, people have tried in the past to get their Nepenthes crosses genetics detailed and they will either refuse or not respond at all.
 
Thanks! Anyone remember when Deroose started releasing these plants? They must have had it in development before then. And now I'm beginning to wonder if they intentionally induced polyploidy for some reason, if that's the case.

Many commercially produced orchids for the "pot plant" trade,( home depot, lowes and large chain garden centers), are intentionally polyploidy because they grow much faster and usually larger than diploids will. This essential when a grower is running a tight clone to market operation to increase their profit margins. Those plants are normally sterile being either 3n or 5N.
Having checked out the link you provided to Deroose I feel fairly confident that the same reasoning can be applied to their plants. They also have operations in China. Taiwan is home to some of the world's largest commercial orchid factories. They also have some of the best breeding stock and the knowledge to use it. To me, at least, it is not a far leap to try and apply this to neps, another plant being found more and more in the large chain stores.
 
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  • #10
It's possible that ellison's batch of Miranda are a remake explaining why they aren't sterile.
 
  • #11
I know it's the easiest Nepenthes I grow.
It survived freezing, not being watered for days on end during the peak summer months, and still it manages to elude certain death under my "care". It also made 3 new growth points for me this month, and continues to pitcher. :lol:
 
  • #12
I don't think mine are remakes since I got two or the three at walmart..... I currently have kampotiana x Miranda seedlings. I will try to post some pictures....

It's possible that ellison's batch of Miranda are a remake explaining why they aren't sterile.
 
  • #13
N. miranda is my first Nepenthes and my favorite 'common' variety that doesn't need a special setup. It's incredibly hardy for a tropical plant and mine does quite well outdoors here in Texas. I have it growing next to some succulents.

This one finally finished acclimating and has shot out some nice pitchers.

3517d5i.jpg
 
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