Description
Nepenthes glabrata is a climbing plant growing to a height of 13 m. The stem is terete to slightly two-ridged and up to 3 mm in diameter. Internodes are up to 3 cm long.
Leaves are chartaceous and sessile. The lamina (leaf blade) of young rosette plants is linear, while that of rosettes on mature plants may be greatly reduced to the point of being almost absent. On climbing stems, the lamina is narrowly oblong-ligulate to narrowly oblanceolate. It measures up to 12 cm in length by 3 cm in width. It has an acute apex with a slightly peltate tendril insertion. The lamina is shortly attenuate at the base, clasping the stem by approximately one-third to one-half of its circumference and may or may not become decurrent as a pair of very low ridges. One to three longitudinal veins are present on either side of the midrib. Pinnate veins are inconspicuous.
Rosette and lower pitchers are small and globose. Upper pitchers are shortly cylindrical to slightly infundibular. They grow to 14 cm in height by 3 cm in width. The wings found in aerial pitchers are distinctive in that they are well developed (≤10 mm wide) but lack fringe elements. The pitcher mouth has an oblique insertion. The peristome is cylindrical and narrow, measuring only up to 2.5 mm in width. It bears very fine ribs (0.1 mm high) spaced 0.25–0.5 mm apart. Unusually, the inner margin of the peristome lacks teeth. The pitcher lid, or operculum, is suborbicular in shape and measures up to 2.8 cm in length by 3.1 cm in width. It has a rounded to truncate apex and a truncate base. The underside of the lid lacks appendages but bears scattered nectar glands up to 0.2 mm in diameter. It shows unusual palmate nervation, with the midrib branching and connecting to the lateral veins around 1 cm below the apex. An unbranched spur (≤5 mm long) is inserted near the base of the lid.
Nepenthes glabrata has a racemose inflorescence measuring up to 20 cm in length, of which the peduncle makes up 7 cm. It bears around 55 one-flowered partial peduncles lacking bracts. The reddish-green flowers have oblong tepals up to 3 mm long and are borne on pedicels measuring up to 8 mm.
Most parts of the plant are glabrous. The exceptions to this are the spur and the inflorescence, which bear an indumentum of simple white hairs around 0.2 mm long.
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