# Nepenthes: alata vs ventrata



## edgeofthefreak (Jul 11, 2015)

Hello all you wonderful people!

Brought home a nice hardy looking Nepenthes last night, and I'm hoping for some basic care and an ID. I think I have it narrowed down to two possibilities for an ID. Either an alata, or a ventrata which is hybrid of alata X ventricosa.

From what I gather, I've managed to find a good hardy species, and it's care should be fairly easy. It's on a stand about 3 feet high, and gets filtered morning sun, then well-filtered daylight all day (we have sheer white curtains). The average temperature is around 20-23 C (68-73 F), and it has an air conditioning vent about 6-8 feet away, in the ceiling. I'm worried about that vent drying out my new plant, but the stand it's on can be moved very easily.

I have about 12 shots taken, and they are available at this *Dropbox link*

Can anyone help with narrowing down the species, and adjust my basic care? This lil guy has about 8-10 pitchers, and most have a covering leaf over the top. They also have anywhere from 1-2" is liquid in each pitcher. I topped one up this morning with some distilled water. The biggest pitcher is approx 6" from leaf to stem, the stem is also 6" long, and the leaf is 9". That makes around 20-22" from base of leaf to covering leaf.

Also, my basic care means not doing too much with it for now. Watering with distilled water, monitoring for dry spots, moving it if the area it's in seems to harsh, etc... There are already some spotting along the stems leading to one or two pitchers. Not too many upper pitchers, those seem to be taking their time to grow.

Also, here's some sample shots from the Dropbox link above.

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## The Snark (Jul 11, 2015)

Looks like a very healthy plant. ENVY!!

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## Biollantefan54 (Jul 11, 2015)

The way this plant is 'set up' bothers me. It doesn't look like it is balanced right! How is the pitcher not bending over lol!?

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## edgeofthefreak (Jul 11, 2015)

Biollantefan54 said:


> The way this plant is 'set up' bothers me. It doesn't look like it is balanced right! How is the pitcher not bending over lol!?


I would very much agree. This is not only the first Nepenthes I've owned, but the first I've been able to touch. The pitchers are insanely lightweight, akin to as if they're made from dry paper. You can feel/hear the liquid moving around inside... I gather after a heavy rain, these pitchers may fill up with water. At that point, they'd likely flip upside down and dump out the excess.

That's the only justification I have for their weirdly angled mouths.

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## Biollantefan54 (Jul 11, 2015)

Lol, I guess the part that makes it look so weird is that the stem goes to the very bottom to hold up the pitcher filled with liquid, it would make sense to me if the stem came down and then formed the pitched starting at the top! :biggrin:

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## The Snark (Jul 11, 2015)

If memory serves... The pitcher is just an extension of the 'stem' with the same approximate number of cells per given amount of length. In forming the pitcher the density of the cells is expanded with sponge like mesophyll cells. Roughly, the pitcher is a modified stem with some leaf components and the stem lending strength from it's lignin which surround and protect the xylem and phloem cells. Think leaf and stem combined.

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## edgeofthefreak (Jul 11, 2015)

I've heard the same. It's a modified stem for stability, and with leaf bits for elasticity, essentially. The actual leaf is the part before the stem, and the lid. Pretty clever, nature.

I have a mealworm colony with no one to eat them... until now. I'll be sparse in my feedings, and I think I'll some [strike]tacky[/strike] awesome dollar store wine glass charms, to denote who has been fed when.


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## edgeofthefreak (Jul 12, 2015)

Smallish early update with some details:

The window the gives this plant it's daily sun is east facing, and it's about 6 feet from that patio door. A few of the pitchers are missing the lid part, one is fully sealed up (turning brown, looks like a gourd), and another pitcher is somewhat deflated. All of the open pitchers have liquid, and all but one pitcher has at least one bug inside it. The biggest pitcher has about 4-5 flying bugs floating.

Seems quite content for now, and has some recent growth out the very top. Has 4-6 new leaves forming, and they are already starting their tendrils. The ends are slightly bulbous, and I imagine that's where new pitchers will form in the coming weeks/months.

It also appears to be at least two independent plants in one pot.

Questions for the keepers: are these easy to propagate? It'll be a while before I need to, and I'll be doing my own research as well... just wanted to know from those with experience. I have a friend that I trade plants with, and I'm sure he'd love his own N. ventrata. 

Thanks for reading!


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## The Snark (Jul 12, 2015)

I've just been informed that at a royal botanical garden there is a section set aside for these plants. I just got lambasted that I have walked right past them and never noticed. Some of the plants I am told are over 6 feet tall. Definitely need to head back up there and take some pictures.

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## edgeofthefreak (Jul 12, 2015)

I saw a picture of some of these growing in the wild, and it just a massive cluster of pitchers. Looked like a few different species to boot. I'd love to have mine (or similar variety) get taller than me!

If you do get pix, you gotta share those. I want to see one tower over people!


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## The Snark (Jul 12, 2015)

oh:





edgeofthefreak said:


> I saw a picture of some of these growing in the wild, and it just a massive cluster of pitchers. Looked like a few different species to boot. I'd love to have mine (or similar variety) get taller than me!
> 
> If you do get pix, you gotta share those. I want to see one tower over people!


Road trip! Road trip! Need to do that place again, now, during the rainy season. The tropics are pure magic at this time. The Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens is a little limited but some of the plants, pride and joy of the gardeners, are unreal. There's this one palm, broad leafed undergrowth type with the leaves a full 4 feet across. I WANT ONE!! I asked a gardener how long it takes to  get leaves like that??? Oh that? It's 40 years old. oh:

I definitely need to get shots of the pitcher plant and there's some other bug eaters. And this one deadly poison heck if I know. It kills the bugs that partake of it's flowers, except one certain kind.

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## edgeofthefreak (Jul 12, 2015)

The Snark said:


> oh:
> Road trip! Road trip! Need to do that place again, now, during the rainy season. The tropics are pure magic at this time. The Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens is a little limited but some of the plants, pride and joy of the gardeners, are unreal. There's this one palm, broad leafed undergrowth type with the leaves a full 4 feet across. I WANT ONE!! I asked a gardener how long it takes to  get leaves like that??? Oh that? It's 40 years old. oh:
> 
> I definitely need to get shots of the pitcher plant and there's some other bug eaters. And this one deadly poison heck if I know. It kills the bugs that partake of it's flowers, except one certain kind.


Road trip indeed! How far of a drive is it from Canada to Thailand? Bet you could grow a 4 foot leaved palm in that amount of time...


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