Nepenthaceae
Nepenthes

Nepenthes zygon Jebb & Cheek

First published in Blumea, prepr, 4 Nov 2014: 14 (2014)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Philippines. It grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

Kew Species Profiles

General Description

A carnivorous plant, Nepenthes zygon has pitchers (modified leaf parts) that trap invertebrates, which are then digested in the acidic fluid, providing nutrients for the plant.

Nepenthes zygon was discovered when a plant that had been growing at Kew for nearly a decade finally came into flower, and subsequent examination revealed it to be a species previously unknown to science. Formerly labelled as Nepenthes copelandii, Kew scientist Martin Cheek, and Matthew Jebb of the National Botanic Garden of Ireland, were able to show that in fact it was a close match for a specimen collected in 1912 from Mt Masay in Mindanao (the Philippines).

Species Profile
Geography and distribution

This species is known from only two locations in Mindanao, the Philippines.

Description

Nepenthes zygon has slender green and red pitchers up to 25cm long. It is distinctive in the white, waxy coating of the outer pitcher and the hairs on the lower surface of the pitcher lid.

Carnivorous lifestyle

Insects are believed to be attracted to nectar produced by large glands covering the pitchers, especially on the lower surface of the pitcher lid. The ridged and toothed edge (peristome) of the pitcher makes it difficult for any animals that fall in to climb back out. They usually die inside the pitcher, drowning in the liquid secreted in its lower half, where they are then broken down by digestives enzymes into nutrients that become available for use by the plant.

Threats and conservation

To date, Nepenthes zygon is known from only a tiny number of individuals at two locations in Mindanao, at one of which its habitat is reported to have been cleared for timber, so it has been assessed as Critically Endangered. Since so much natural habitat has been lost in the Philippines (less than 3% of lowland rainforest is reported to survive, and losses are ongoing), it is a race against time to identify new species, assess their conservation status and seek to protect them before they become extinct.

This species at Kew

Nepenthes zygon is grown in the behind-the-scenes Tropical Nursery at Kew. A preserved specimen is held in Kew's Herbarium.

Distribution
Philippines
Ecology
Submontane (mossy) forest.
Conservation
Critically Endangered according to IUCN Red List criteria.
Hazards

Unknown.

[KSP]

Uses

Use
Unknown.
[KSP]

Common Names

English
Pitcher plant

Sources

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Species Profiles

    • Kew Species Profiles
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0