Common swamp pitcher-plant

Description

Nepenthes mirabilis, or the common swamp pitcher-plant and tropical pitcher plant, is a carnivorous plant species. By far the most widespread of all Nepenthes, its range covers continental Southeast Asia and all major islands of the Malay Archipelago (minus the Lesser Sunda Islands and northern Philippines), stretching from China in the north to Australia in the south. The species exhibits great variability throughout its range. One of the more notable varieties, N. mirabilis var. echinostoma, is endemic to Brunei and Sarawak and possesses an extremely wide peristome. The conservation status of N. mirabilis is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. In Hong Kong, it is a protected species under Forestry Regulations Cap. 96A. According to Matthew Jebb and Martin Cheek, the pitchers of N. mirabilis are used as toy phallocrypts in New Guinea. Nepenthes mirabilis has by far the widest distribution of any Nepenthes species and is known from the following countries and regions: Australia (Cape York Peninsula), Borneo, Cambodia, Caroline Islands (Palau and Yap), China (Guangdong Province, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Macau), D'Entrecasteaux Islands, Java, Laos, Louisiade Archipelago, Maluku Islands, Myanmar, New Guinea, Peninsular Malaysia, Philippines (Dinagat and Mindanao), Sulawesi, Sumatra, Thailand, and Vietnam. It has also been recorded from many smaller islands, including Babi, Bangka, Banyak Islands, Batu Islands, Bengkalis, Enggano, Ko Lanta, Ko Tarutao, Langkawi, Mendol, Mentawai Islands (North Pagai, Siberut, Sipura, and South Pagai), Meranti Islands (Padang, Rangsang, and Tebing Tinggi), Nias, Penang, Phuket, Riau Islands (Lingga Islands and Riau Archipelago), Rupat, Tawi-Tawi, and possibly Wowoni. Nepenthes mirabilis is closely related to N. rowaniae and N. tenax, the only two Nepenthes species endemic to Australia. A great number of infaunal organisms have been found in the pitchers of this species. These include the sarcophagid fly Sarcophaga papuensis and the mite Nepenthacarus warreni, which have both been found in Australian populations of the plant. Similarly, the mosquitoes Aedes dybasi and Aedes maehleri reside in the pitchers of N. mirabilis on the islands of Palau and Yap, respectively.Both have unusual life histories and morphological traits associated with this habit.