Nepenthes Fusca - Ecology

Ecology

Nepenthes fusca is endemic to Borneo, where its range stretches from Central Kalimantan to northwestern Sabah. It has been recorded from Brunei, Indonesia (Kalimantan), and Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). The species has a wide altitudinal distribution and is typically found at elevations of 1200 to 2500 m above sea level. However, N. fusca has occasionally been reported from lowland hills down to 600 m and in Sarawak it has been found at only 300 m in hill forest.

Nepenthes fusca is most commonly found as an epiphyte in shady mossy forest on ridge tops, where it may grow 10 to 15 m off the ground. This makes it particularly difficult to find and often the only evidence of its presence are dead pitchers that have fallen to the forest floor. In this respect, it can be considered the "ecological equivalent" of N. bongso from Sumatra. More rarely, N. fusca grows terrestrially in exposed sites near montane forest or along logging roads. It is often sympatric with species such as N. reinwardtiana, N. stenophylla, and N. tentaculata, and natural hybrids with all of these have been recorded.