the worlds smallest mature nepenthes...............i think

rattler_mt · #1 (**permalink**) 07-26-2006, 02:39 AM

before some of you get your hopes up please remember that this is a tip cutting from a mature plant that is in the vining stage. this is also a small clone of the species the other clones are larger. also this plant likes it cooler than dart tanks. it is also a difficult and expensive plant to get ahold of................now if i can just find a one of the larger clones so that i can examine it w/o a magnifying glass

Nepenthes aristolochioides

Frogtofall · #2 (**permalink**) 07-26-2006, 04:16 AM

Thats pretty cool. Where did you obtain this species?

roberthvalera · #3 (**permalink**) 07-26-2006, 05:11 AM

They are pretty new in the hobby. A plant that size can cost 90 dollars and up. Black Jungle, California Carnivores and a few other vendors have them. Ive seen pitchers up to 4 inches in size but Im not sure how big they get. Really cool pitchers that look like little lanterns when the sun hits them at the right angle.

rattler_mt · #4 (**permalink**) 07-26-2006, 04:51 PM

i got it in trade for another nep. IIRC they get pitchers up to about 5 inches tall.

Frogtofall · #5 (**permalink**) 07-26-2006, 05:21 PM

So that tiny mature pitcher is sort of not typical of that variety? It just happened to be that small?

rattler_mt · #6 (**permalink**) 07-26-2006, 06:41 PM

actually im not sure, the only other aristo ive seen in person was a younger one though its leaves and pitchers were much larger. and it hadnt started to vine yet. im trying to find more info. this species at its largest is fairly small for a nep. im not sure how much vining is normal in this species, for example rajah doesnt really vine at all but maxima and veitchii will produce extreamly long vines. aristo is not extreamly common in collections though its not rare either, i have a hybrid and a clone of veitchii that are MUCH harder to get ahold of. this aristo is from a seed grown plant so its not one of the clones from tissue culture that are floating around. im waiting to see if the guy i got it from will take a pic of his plant and see what it looks like. but in all honestly i wouldnt be surprised if this one didnt get much bigger as far as pitchers go, ill know for sure next year after it has another years growth in my care, ive had it for about 10 months now.

roberthvalera · #7 (**permalink**) 07-26-2006, 08:41 PM

I think its the normal variety just a young plant. I guess they climb up pretty high into trees. http://www.joachim-nerz.de/aristo.htm

rattler_mt · #8 (**permalink**) 07-27-2006, 12:17 AM

im not sure on how young it is, when i recieved it last fall it had an aborted flower scrape on it, something ive seen quite often on cuttings shipped to me, the stress ofbeing cut and shipping triggers flowering in mature plants sometimes though they almost always abort before even being able to the sex of the plant. it is definatly of flowering age. its growth also shows its entered the vining stage. young plants are more compact with much shorter internodal length. the attatchment of the pitcher to the tendril also shows that it is an upper pitcher and not the lower pitcher of a younger plant.