Shield-leaved pitcher-plant

Description

Nepenthes clipeata ( from Latin clipeus "round shield", referring to the leaf shape), or the shield-leaved pitcher-plant is a tropical pitcher plant known only from the near-vertical granite cliff faces of Mount Kelam in Kalimantan, Borneo. It has an altitudinal distribution of approximately 600 to 800 m. Nepenthes clipeata is perhaps the most endangered of all Nepenthes species, with only an estimated 15 plants remaining in the wild as of 1995 (although see N. pitopangii and N. rigidifolia).Nepenthes clipeata is characterised by its peltate leaves, whereby the tendril joins the underside of the lamina before the apex. Pitchers are large and can be up to 30 cm high. They are globose at the base and slightly infundibulate (funnel-shaped) in the upper part. The species produces only one type of pitcher and the stem does not climb, reaching only 2 m in length. The inflorescence is small, rarely exceeding 25 cm. All parts of the plant are densely covered with an indumentum of long, brown hairs.