Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Nepenthes mira

(Nepenthes mira)

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Description

Nepenthes mira is a highland pitcher plant endemic to Palawan in the Philippines. It grows at elevations of 1550–1605 m above sea level. Nepenthes mira was formally described by Matthew Jebb and Martin Cheek in 1998. The authors suggest that N. mira is related to the Bornean species N. edwardsiana, N. macrophylla, and N. villosa. In his Carnivorous Plant Database, taxonomist Jan Schlauer treats this species as a heterotypic synonym of N. deaniana. Nepenthes mira has no known natural hybrids. No forms or varieties have been described. Nepenthes species usually consist of a shallow root system and a prostrate or climbing stem, often several metres long and up to 15 m (49 ft) or more, and usually 1 cm (0.4 in) or less in diameter, although this may be thicker in a few species (e.g. N. bicalcarata). From the stems arise alternate, sword-shaped leaves with entire leaf margins. An extension of the midrib (the tendril), which in some species aids in climbing, protrudes from the tip of the leaf; at the end of the tendril the pitcher forms. The pitcher starts as a small bud and gradually expands to form a globe- or tube-shaped trap. The shapes can evoke a champagne flute or a condom. The trap contains a fluid of the plant's own production, which may be watery or more viscous, and is used to drown the prey. This fluid contains viscoelastic biopolymers that may be crucial to the retention of insects within the traps of many species. The viscoelastic fluid in pitchers is especially effective in the retention of winged insects. The trapping efficiency of this fluid remains high, even when significantly diluted by water, as inevitably happens in wet conditions.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum:
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order:Caryophyllales
Family:Nepenthaceae
Genus:Nepenthes
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