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help with nepenthes bicalcarata

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I just received my order for a "red" nepenthes bicalarata hybrid a few days back.
The plant is young and healthy, leaf span of about 12cm diameter across. The young pitchers are about 3.5cm in height. However, when looking at the under side of the lid, I can't seem to locate any fangs??!!
So is this a Bicalarata? Or will the fangs grow in time?
 
If it is a hybrid, then it might not have inherited the fangs. Young immature pitchers do not have this characteristic yet either (I think).

The image doesn't work.

SF
 
Hmmm. I know i have a photo somewhere that shows it, but i can't find it.

My plant gave me the same worries, but after about six to nine months it started producing adult pitchers. As long as you got it from a reputable place, there's a really good chance it is bical.
 
This characteristic feature is absent in very young specimens. I would not worry....
 
Yes, young N. bicalcarata pitchers are elongated with no fangs, this is called a "juvenile" pitcher. Usually these pitchers are light green to yellow no matter how much light you give them.

If you place it in a terrarium with hot days 85-95 and warm nights 70-75), humid (no less than 80%) and brightly lit terrarium (as much light as you can fit over the terrarium) you can quickly grow it out the juvenile period where it will make the stout rounded and fanged pitchers we all know and love. Once the N. bicalcarata hits about 30-45cm diameter it will really begin to grow fast and in a year or so you will be battling a full grown bicalcarata. remember this plant can be 180cm or slightly more, in diameter. This is the average diameter of a dinner table, so best get to work on that giant growing chamber...!
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Have fun!
 
Hi all:

I just got a nep bicalcarata red X orange from a reputable nursery somewhere in the south pacific. This plant had a leaf span of approximately 20 cm long, but it only had one pitcher, the other one broke off while in transit. Anyway, this pitcher was about 1.5 inches in diameter but it had 2 nice fangs where they supposed to be. The fangs were about 1/16 of an inch each!!. Is this plant older than the one vistary has?. Maybe.

Gus
 
If the pitchers were well developed and charachteristic of the species but the plant was still "small" in leaf length then it likely was grown in bright light.
In higher light the leaves are slower to grow longer (they become thicker and stiffer instead) but the plants pitchers grow bigger and make the transition from juvenile to adult shaped pitchers faster. If you take a well grown Nep and place it in poor lighting it can and often will revert to making juvenile pitchers and long flaccid leaves. I've noticed with some plants that simply moving them a few feet to a even slightly dimmer spot in the same chamber they grew perfect in will cause the leaves to etoliate somewhat and reduce pitcher size...
picky picky!
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I just fixed the image.
Ok, I got a reply from Malesiana today, they told me the red N bical I ordered is actually a

hybrid of bical x gracillis

does any one have this cross?? Will there be any fangs in the mature pitchers?
 
The cross of N. bicalcarata x gracilis is naturally occurring in Brunei, and is often called N. Cantleyi. Unfortunately, the fangs of N. bicalcarata are somewhat reccessive. All the Cantleyi plants I've seen do not have fangs. The hybrid of N. bicalcarata x rafflesiana will show nubs instead of fangs. Other bical crosses I've seen are also fangless, but have the distinctive bical influence in shape and peristome form.

Trent
 
  • #10
My N. xCantleyi is N. gracilis x N. bicalcarata.  Isn't the maternal plant a differentiating aspect in hybrids?  That would mean N. bical x N. gracilis isn't the same hybrid, right?

-Confused
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But to answer the other question, no, my Cantleyi doesn't have fangs.  That picture of a pitcher (! ) doesn't look much like the pitchers on my N. xCantleyi, unless that pitcher is deformed or old:
20030402-CP-N.xCantley-%20basal%20rosettes.jpg
 
  • #11
Hi D,
Your plant pictured is still immature. As they get larger, the bical influence becomes more noticeable. As for which plant bears the seed pod being dominant- normally "mom's" characteristics seem to dominate, but not always. One thing is for sure-no fangs. On a mature plant, there is a pair of beads where the peristome meets the lid. Also, N. Cantleyi can be both (N. gracilis x N. bicalcarata) and (N. bicalcarata x N. gracilis) These reciprical hybrids carry the same name. Same holds true with other plants, like Sarracenia or orchids. S. mitchelliana is S. mitchelliana, makes no difference whether the seed pod bearing parent is S. purpurea or S. leucophylla.
Maybe a better example would have been N hookeriana, since this is the Nepenthes discussion group.
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Trent
 
  • #12
Well, i didnt get the red bical as i wanted =(
anyone knows where i can buy the red version of the bical, online?
 
  • #13
I bought one here:


It looks just like the picture.  Well, it did until four of the five pitchers died right after shipping.  Now it's growing nicely and two new pitchers are due to open over the next week or weeks.  In another thread I explained that bicalcarata, IMO,  hate shipping.  My other bicalcarata did better, but still worse than all the other plants in its order.  Keep that in mind when you order your plant.  It will need TLC when you get it.
 
  • #14
Well this a first, as I ID's the pic immediately as a N. 'Cantleyi'. It may vary from bical to bical, but a 12" diameter one "should" have fangs(all the ones of that sized I have seen have, but that is just my observation).
The giant red bical from Malaysiana all turned out to be hybrids, but I had not heard of what. I would like to see what the plant looks like when it really gets going.

regards,

joe
 
  • #15
I have to concur: a bical 12 inches across will have perfect miniature version pitchers of a larger plant.
Joe, it's funny you mention the bicals turn out to be hybrids. I've seen this happen before and its the chance you (or Malesiana) takes with seed collected in the wild. Actually, we have a really pretty (bicalcarata x rafflesiana) that is the result of the same type of situation. It does not have fangs, but a pretty, dark red peristome with a pair of nubs just under the lid.

Trent
 
  • #16
My small bicalcarata, not the red one, has little fangs and it is smaller than the plant in question. They are soft, but clearly there. I just checked. If I wasn't running out of space, I'd post a pic.
 
  • #17
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5--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (The Griffin @ Oct. 20 2003,7
wow.gif
5)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Well this a first, as I ID's the pic immediately as a N. 'Cantleyi'. It may vary from bical to bical, but a 12" diameter one "should" have fangs(all the ones of that sized I have seen have, but that is just my observation).
The giant red bical from Malaysiana all turned out to be hybrids, but I had not heard of what. I would like to see what the plant looks like when it really gets going.

regards,

joe[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Actually I ordered this plant from Malesiana. They did mention to me that it was some hybrid of the red giant bical. But from the picture in their catalogue, it really look cool, so I went ahead to purchase it. The plant arrived healthy but lack the fangs that I so desired for.
 
  • #18
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Trent @ Oct. 20 2003,10:56)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Your plant pictured is still immature. As they get larger, the bical influence becomes more noticeable.  As for which plant bears the seed pod being dominant- normally "mom's" characteristics seem to dominate, but not always. One thing is for sure-no fangs. On a mature plant, there is a pair of beads where the peristome meets the lid.  Also, N. Cantleyi can be both (N. gracilis x N. bicalcarata) and (N. bicalcarata x N. gracilis) These reciprical hybrids carry the same name.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Thanks Trent.

Wow, that's interesting... i've already taken cuttings from it once, and have been growing it for more than a year. How long does it take this plant to mature?

I can't imagine it ever being 12" in diameter, either. It seems far too gracilis-like for that. Perhaps mine is the offspring of a maternal gracilis cross, and the one in question has a bical maternal parent.
 
  • #19
Ours puts out leaves up to about 10 inches with pitchers about two inches long. Like gracilis, it sends out frequent ground shoots with short leaves and relatively large ground pitchers in clusters. The leaves are much wider than gracilis, and to me seem more like bicalcarata. It takes several years for them to get up to full size and really perform.

Trent
 
  • #20
Not sure if it matters much as you have hybrid, but here is a photo of my N. bical 'Red'.

N_bical_red_large_urn.jpg
 
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