Description
Nepenthes sumatrana produces sub-cylindrical climbing stems up to 15 m long and 0.9 cm thick. These have internodes up to 20 cm long. Leaves are coriaceous and petiolate. The lamina is lanceolate-obovate in form and grows to 55 cm in length and 9 cm in width. Longitudinal veins are present in 6–8 pairs together with numerous pinnate veins. Tendrils are up to 60 cm long.
A rosette pitcher (left) and a lower pitcher (right)Rosette pitchers may be ovoid throughout or narrowly ovoid in the lower half and cylindrical above. They grow up to 10 cm high and 4 cm wide. Two fringed wings, up to 8 mm wide, run along the front of rosette pitchers. The peristome is cylindrical in cross-section and up to 4 mm wide, bearing indistinct teeth. The pitcher lid or operculum is sub-orbiculate and has no appendages. An unbranched spur (≤15 mm long) is inserted at the base of the lid.
Lower pitchers are wholly ovoid, with the hip located just below the peristome. They grow to 20 cm high and 10 cm wide, and possess a pair of fringed wings up to 6 mm wide. The peristome is cylindrical in cross-section and up to 10 mm wide. The lid is orbiculate and, as in rosette pitchers, bears an unbranched spur.
Upper pitchers are infundibular (funnel-shaped) throughout. They are by far the largest of the traps produced by this species, reaching 30 cm in height and 15 cm in width. As in many Nepenthes species, the wings are reduced to ribs in aerial pitchers. The mouth has a distinctive raised section at the front, a feature also exhibited by the related N. rafflesiana.
Nepenthes sumatrana has a racemose inflorescence. In male plants, the peduncle grows to 20 cm, while the rachis may be 70 cm tall. Female inflorescences have a longer peduncle (≤30 cm) and a shorter rachis (≤40 cm). Partial peduncles are one- or two-flowered and up to 15 mm long. Sepals are ovate and up to 6 mm long.
Some parts of the plant are sparsely covered with short simple or branched hairs, although these are mostly caducous. Short brown hairs are present on the leaf margins.
No forms or varieties of N. sumatrana have been described.
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