N. robcantleyi question

[Johanovich]

Hi guys,

So I purchased a N. robcantleyi some time ago from Poland. This retailer is listed as a retailer from BE, so you'd expect this to be the real thing.
However when the plant arrived I thought it didn't look like I was expecting for a robcantleyi. Now I heard from some other people that this company has shipped wrong species before. But in these cases the label for the plant was different as wel. In my case the plant was labeled as robcantleyi.

So I want to ask the opinion of other people who have robcantleyis if my plant is the real deal or a possible hybrid of some sorts.

This is how the plant looked when it arrived:


and here is a picture of the plant as it is today (the old pitcher is buried beneath sphagnum):


a few pictures of the pitcher while opening:


while coloring up:


and as it is today:



Can anyone shed some light on this matter? Perhaps if somebody has read the complete article with the species description and can give me the specific characteristics (preferably with illustrations) so I can check. On this website some characteristics are mentioned but they are not very specific: http://carnivorousockhom.blogspot.fr/2011/12/nepenthes-robcantleyi-aka-nepenthes.html

 

[Cthulhu138]

The first few batches of robcantleyi were all seed grown and I've heard that BE has something like 500 different TC clones. That being said, there is a lot of different genetic material out there so there is bound to be lots of natural genetic variation in these plants. The 2 plants I have will also put out strange looking pitchers from time. It's one of the stranger and more unpredictable Nepenthes species that I grow.

 

[RL7836]

It's one of the stranger and more unpredictable Nepenthes species that I grow.

I can't argue with that - LOL. I got a plant from the original shipment. It grew & pitchered very well - so well that I felt I needed to repot. After the repot, it morphed into an odd mutant. While it still grows well, it hasn't put out a 'normal' pitcher in a long time (repotted a few more times, new media, different conditions, etc). Otoh, I received another plant in a trade that had suffered quite horribly. Upon repotting, it took off and became quite the monster showplant - producing great pitchers, large red peristomes.... Go figure.

 

[corky]

must say that looks like my n.truncata , it does look quite different to any of the robc i have seen

 

[hcarlton]

It does look very different from most rc's I've seen, though the fact that it has a noticeable peristome from the very beginning suggests the plant's in the parentage at least. The leaves are a match too, but the shape of the pitcher, the absence of the large ridges on the peristome, and the small wings are very atypical from the plants I've seen. Let it grow out a while and it may give a clue as to whether it's just a sport, or a hybrid.

 

[mass]

I have 2 robcantleyi here, along with 2 LL truncata, truncata Pasian, truncata D "Red Flush", and numerous truncata dominant hybrids. With my experience growing all of these, I'd say your plant most resembles my truncata Pasian, with that red peristome.
Like.. to the "T".
The pitchers on yours don't look strange, or deformed. But like a happy, healthy
non-robcantleyi truncata.

 

[Johanovich]

I have 2 robcantleyi here, along with 2 LL truncata, truncata Pasian, truncata D "Red Flush", and numerous truncata dominant hybrids. With my experience growing all of these, I'd say your plant most resembles my truncata Pasian, with that red peristome.
Like.. to the "T".
The pitchers on yours don't look strange, or deformed. But like a happy, healthy
non-robcantleyi truncata.

I thought it had a great resemblance of truncata as well, but there are certain characteristics that don't completely fit truncata either. I have a pasian truncata as well (in fact it is the plant next to the robcantleyi in the picture). This plant is only slightly smaller than the robcantleyi but the pitchers look different. For example they are much more narrow and have a less pronounced peristome. The pitcher in the illustrations is also only about 10cm high and I would expect truncata to look much more juvenile at this size.

I did find a picture out of the article of the original description by Cheek, and the lid should have two appendages, one on the bottom of the lid and one smaller at the tip. The fringes on the pitcher should also run down to the bottom. Mine does not have the appendage on the tip and this in combination with the reduced wings suggest that mine is probably not a robcantleyi, or at least not a pure one. But I'll see what it grows into, maybe the identity will become more clear as the plant matures.

This is the link where you can find the picture:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/njb.2011.29.issue-6/issuetoc
Although the complete article is not freely available, an good illustration can be found when scrolling down to the article (the fifth in the list).