Description
Nepenthes edwardsiana is a climbing plant. The stem can attain a length of 15 m and is up to 10 mm in diameter. Internodes are up to 35 cm long and circular in cross section.
Leaves are coriaceous and petiolate. The lamina is truly lanceolate in shape and may be up to 30 cm long by 7 cm wide. It has an acute-obtuse apex that is occasionally acuminate. The base of the lamina is gradually or abruptly contracted at the petiole. The petiole is canaliculate and up to 15 cm long. It is generally winged and bears a partly amplexicaul sheath that clasps the stem for two-thirds to three-quarters of its circumference. One to three longitudinal veins are present on either side of the midrib. Pinnate veins are indistinct. Tendrils are generally between one and two times as long as the lamina and grow to 35 cm in length.
The pitcher base is bulbous to ovoid, with the pitcher cup becoming cylindrical in the upper two-thirds to three-quarters. The pitchers are some of the largest in the genus, sometimes exceeding 50 cm in height and 15 cm in width, although they are usually around 30 cm high. Wings at the front of the pitcher cup are either greatly reduced or absent altogether. On the inner surface of the pitcher, the glandular region is present in the bulbous portion. The mouth is elongated into a neck and has an oblique insertion. The peristome is cylindrical and up to 30 mm wide. It bears very highly developed teeth and ribs, the latter reaching 20 mm in diameter. The pitcher lid or operculum is cordate, up to 8 cm wide, and lacks appendages. An unbranched spur up to 20 mm long is inserted near the base of the lid. Pitchers range in colour from light yellow to dark red. The inner surface of the pitcher is usually white, contrasting sharply with the rich colouration of the outer surface. Most parts of the pitcher are very flexible, including the peristome ribs, with only the pitcher base, where the digestive zone is located, being rigid.
Nepenthes edwardsiana has a racemose inflorescence. The peduncle may be up to 30 cm long, whereas the attenuate rachis reaches 20 cm in length. Pedicels are one-flowered, up to 25 mm long, and do not possess a bract. Sepals are round to elliptic in shape and up to 5 mm long. A study of 100 pollen samples taken from a herbarium specimen (Sands 3651, collected at an altitude of 2600 m) found the mean pollen diameter to be 34.4 μm (SE = 0.5; CV = 7.7%).
Most parts of the plant bear an indumentum of very short hairs, although it is not conspicuous.
Nepenthes edwardsiana varies relatively little across its range; consequently, no infraspecific taxa have been described.
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