Nepenthes ramos

 ( Carnivorous Plants Of Asia ) 

Nepenthes ramos is a tropical pitcher plant native to the northeastern Mindanao, Philippines. It is known from only a handful of herbarium specimens collected in 1919 at an elevation of 670 m above sea level. It likely grows in the forest on ultramafic soils.

Nepenthes ramos belongs to the informal " N. alata group", which also includes Nepenthes alata, N. ceciliae, N. copelandii, N. extincta, N. graciliflora, N. hamiguitanensis, N. kitanglad, Nepenthes kurata, Nepenthes leyte, N. mindanaoensis, Nepenthes negros, N. saranganiensis, and Nepenthes ultra.Cheek, M. & M. Jebb (2013). Typification and redelimitation of Nepenthes alata with notes on the N. alata group, and N. negros sp. nov. from the Philippines. Nordic Journal of Botany 31(5): 616–622. Cheek, M. & M. Jebb (2013). Nepenthes ultra (Nepenthaceae), a new species from Luzon, Philippines. Blumea, published online on October 24, 2013. These species are united by a number of morphological characters, including winged petioles, lids with basal ridges on the lower surface (often elaborated into appendages), and upper pitchers that are usually broadest near the base.

The specific epithet ramos honours Philippine plant collecting Maximo Ramos, who collected the type material with J. Pascasio.

Plants matching the description of N. ramos have been observed in the Mindanao provinces of Bukidnon, Davao Oriental, and Surigao, and on an "isolated mountain" on an undisclosed island around 120 km from the type locality.Gronemeyer, T. (2015). Nepenthes ramos located in the field . Carnivorous Plants in the tropics, 5 January 2015. Gronemeyer, T. (2014). Nepenthes ramos am Naturstandort. G.F.P. Forum, November 29, 2014. These discoveries suggest that N. ramos might be the most common member of the " N. alata group" on the island of Mindanao.

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Nepenthes kurata Nepenthes kurata was described in 2013 as a species known only from Mount Malindang in Misamis Occidental Province, Mindanao, where it was recorded at 1,400 m altitude. This would make it one of the most westerly known Nepenthes species in Mindanao. (In 1995 N. mirabilis was found near Polanco, further to the west.) This taxon was previously described as a variety of Nepenthes alata— N. alata var. ecristata—in John Muirhead Macfarlane's 1908 monograph, "Nepenthaceae".

The specific epithet kurata honours botanist Shigeo Kurata, best known for his 1976 book, Nepenthes of Mount Kinabalu.

Nepenthes kurata was formally synonymised with N. ramos in 2016.

• Mey, F.S. (2013). Nepenthes alzapan and an army of new species from the Philippines. Strange Fruits: A Garden's Chronicle, July 15, 2013.
• Micheler, M., T. Gronemeyer, A. Wistuba, D. Marwinski, W. Suarez & V. Amoroso (2013). Nepenthes viridis, eine neue Nepenthes-Art von der Insel Dinagat, Philippinen. Das Taublatt 76: 4–21.
• Smith, L. (2014). Pitcher perfect - but carnivorous plants are at risk. The Independent, January 5, 2014.

Categories: Carnivorous Plants Of Asia, Ramos, Plants Described In 2013, Endemic Flora Of The Philippines, Flora Of Mindanao, Taxa Named By Martin Cheek, Taxa Named By Matthew Jebb

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