Related Species
Nepenthes sumatrana is most closely related to N. beccariana, N. longifolia, and N. rafflesiana.
In 2001, Charles Clarke published a cladistic analysis of the Nepenthes species of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia based on 70 morphological characteristics of each taxon. The following is a portion of the resultant cladogram, showing part of "Clade 5", which has 69% bootstrap support. The sister pair of N. rafflesiana and N. sumatrana has 58% support. N. beccariana was not included in this study.
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Nepenthes rafflesiana and N. sumatrana differ primarily in the peristome structure of lower pitchers. N. sumatrana has indistinct peristome teeth, whereas those of N. rafflesiana are pronounced. The peristome of N. rafflesiana also has a characteristic elongated neck which is absent in N. sumatrana. Lower pitchers of N. sumatrana are completely ovoid, whereas those of N. rafflesiana are cylindrical in the upper part. Furthermore, the leaves of N. sumatrana are narrower and fringed with short brown hairs.
When Matthew Jebb and Martin Cheek revised the genus in 1997, they treated N. longifolia in synonymy with N. sumatrana. A more recent monograph by Clarke restores N. longifolia to specific rank. Clarke lists the following morphological characters that distinguish the two species.
| Character | N. longifolia | N. sumatrana |
|---|---|---|
| Tendrils on rosette leaves | ≤110 cm long | ≤60 cm long |
| Lower pitcher height | usually about 1/10 the length of the tendril | usually about 1/5 the length of the tendril |
| Lower pitchers on immature rosettes | ovoid in lower parts, hip around the middle, lid ovate | ovoid in lower parts, hip around the middle, lid ovate |
| Lower pitchers on rosettes sprouting from mature plants | as for rosette pitchers on immature plants | ovoid throughout, hip immediately beneath peristome, contracted at an angle of 45° to mouth, lid orbicular |
| Upper pitcher fragrance | no fragrance | sweet, fruity fragrance |
| Upper pitcher shape | infundibular in lower ⅓, cylindrical up to hip and mouth, lid usually ovate, rarely orbicular | infundibular throughout, hip immediately beneath peristome, lid orbicular |
| Peristome of upper pitchers | never raised at front like N. rafflesiana, but often "notched" | raised at front, like N. rafflesiana |
The two species can also be identified based on their altitudinal distributions: N. sumatrana occurs at 0–800 m above sea level, whereas N. longifolia has been recorded from elevations of 300–1100 m.
Read more about this topic: Nepenthes Sumatrana
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