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What is the biggest nepenthes?

What's the one that has vines of 20 feet long or something?
 
Biggest nepenthes vine length size? Hmm I'd say N. ampullaria also...it get's very viney...that's why the natives still use it's vines to bind stuff together. Biggest nepenthes plant size I'd say would be N. bicalcarata, N. truncata or the highland form of N. truncata. N. lowii and N. rajah are also very large plants.
 
The Nepenthes bicalcarata is said to get 30 meters which is roughly like 90 feet (pitchers only reaching 25 cm/10 inches or as I like to tell my freinds "human head sized" when they ask how big they'll get). The bical is my fastest growing plant, outgrowing my largest container (a showerstall) within six months of purchasing the plant.

As far as potential pitcher size alone the awards would probably go to Nepenthes edwardsiana (50 cm), Nep. truncata highland (50 cm), Nep. merilliana (45 cm), Nep rafflesiana giant form (45cm), Nep rajah (35 cm).
 
I think one of the biggest Nepenthes are N. Rajah, because when fully matured it can even digest small mammals.
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Spell check**
 
Bicalcurata is probably the biggest Nepenthes. It can become massize. Veitchii can climb vertical tree trunks to great heights though. N. lowi and its hybrids can also become very large.
 
for picher size depends if u mean length or volume.
 
N. rajah has some of the biggest but not the biggest pitchers, when you compare N. rajah pitchers (35 cm L x 18cm W) to N. edwardsiana pitchers (50 cm L x 16cm W) the rajah pitchers are almost half the length. Don't get me wrong, I'm not maligning rajah (I love mine) but I would gladly trade several of my rajahs for an edwardisiana!
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All these larger Nepenthes pitchers are potentially capable of trapping small reptiles & mammals (like mice and rats). I honestly don't believe the monkey story that gets passed around. Monkeys are far too agile/strong to be trapped in a pitcher, even a very big one. Unless the monkey was trapped head down and drowned-but even this I would need to see to believe.When I was a kid one of my freinds dads had bought a small monkey (in the early 80s you could buy monkeys at pet shops-abhorrible but true) and this little guy swatted at a fish in an aquarium and cracked the glass. I don't think this little monkey could have been trapped in a pitcher, or anywhere for that matter even when he was very small he was a fantastic jumper/climber.
 
if i remember the story correctly it was baby monkeys the cartaker was pulling out of the pitchers.
 
  • #10
QUOTE FROM swords:
N. rajah has some of the biggest but not the biggest pitchers, when you compare N. rajah pitchers (35 cm L x 18cm W) to N. edwardsiana pitchers (50 cm L x 16cm W) the rajah pitchers are almost half the length.


Well yes that is true but you will need an exceptionally OLD N. edwardsiana to make pitchers that large and I don't think you'd be seeing pitchers that big for a WHILE
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While with an N. rajah you can begin to see very large pitchers in just a few short years.
 
  • #11
That's not the point though, NG...

Virus, do u know of any pictures of a N. veitchii clinging to a tree trunk with it's leaves?
 
  • #12
Greg, I meant as Josh in wanting the plant he is going to see results on his rajah must faster then he would on an edwardsiana, if he were to add it to his collection. That's my point.
 
  • #13
True NG, but I'd still give my left... rajah for one of those bad boys! The way I figure it, the sooner I get one the sooner I get those jurassic pitchers even if it's 5 years down the road "best get started right away" ha ha!
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Greg the back cover of Neps of Borneo & the accompanying field guide Neps of Sabah each has a photo of veitchii climbing a tree but I haven't seen any other pics that I know of.
 
  • #14
Josh,

i just looked threw a couple of places and the only supplier of N.edwardsiana is not selling any of his plants right now. yes, i recall seeing one a couple of days ago he was still small in size but, mean looking
 
  • #15
George,
I know who you mean but I do not know if his plants are true edwardsiana but actually N. edwardsiana ssp. macrophylla, which is what I already have from another guy on the opposite side of the globe which is actually N. macrophylla and not the true N. edwardsiana, even though the catalogue entry is N. edwardsiana ssp. macrophylla. The true edwardsiana has fewer but larger teeth than macrophylla and much longer pitchers and shorter leaves than macrophylla. Many of the photos on the site are convincing but I wonder if it's the same plant which he has in cultivation.

If anyone out there can independently verify that this IS the true edward the great, oh boy...!  
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  • #16
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (nepenthes gracilis @ Feb. 16 2003,04:21)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Greg, I meant as Josh in wanting the plant he is going to see results on his rajah must faster then he would on an edwardsiana, if he were to add it to his collection. That's my point.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Hi Dustin,

where did you get this information from? How many people do you know growing N. edwardsiana?

Taxonomy is mostly based on opinins of taxonomists, there is no final truth. So it is total legitimate to speak of "N. edwardsiana ssp. macrophylla" if you don't follow the recent arguments of Jebb and Cheek, separating this plant from what we do believe being N. edwardsiana!

Joachim
 
  • #17
Joachim, apparently my point is tough for people to understand. What I am attempting to say is since Josh has his N. rajah in his possession right now and is growing it in very good conditions he is most likley to have a larger N. rajah in the near future rather than a large N. edwardsiana. If Josh and the rest fo us get the very nice opportunity to have this nepenthes someday I am sure it will be quite small...most likley in the size range of 5 cm and larger.

Hope you can see my point of view now.
 
  • #18
Josh,

    from what i understand that N.edwardsiana and N.klossii is not sold anywhere as of yet. with just recieving e-mail from someone.
    the plant you have right now is still pretty impressive to me.
 
  • #19
Supposedly Malesiana will have N. edwardsiana available next year. I know Ch'ien Lee has been to Irian Jaya and seen N. klossii, so hopefully he got seed and that is in culture too.

Regards,

Joe
 
  • #20
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Joachim Danz @ Feb. 16 2003,4:51)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">where did you get this information from? How many people do you know growing N. edwardsiana?[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
NG I believe he understands your point. He is ,however questioning the validity of your information.
 
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