Nepenthes Lowii - Related Species

Related Species

In his 1928 monograph, B. H. Danser placed N. lowii in the Regiae clade, together with 14 other species. This differed from the sub-genus classification published by Günther Beck von Mannagetta und Lerchenau in 1895, which placed N. lowii in its own subgroup: Retiferae. Danser explained his assignment of N. lowii to Regiae as follows:

Most aberrant is N. Lowii, the leaves and the stem of which are coarse, whereas the indumentum is almost absent and the pitchers show a peculiar form and have no peristome, the lid is vaulted, the midrib is keeled but has no appendage, the lower surface is covered with thick hairs, the glands of the inner surface of the pitcher are so large, that the interspaces are reduced to lines. All these characters, however seem to have little taxonomic value. The form of the pitcher is analogous to that of N. inermis of the Montanae group, which also has no peristome. The peculiar bristles on the lower surface of the lid are found less developed in N. Macfarlanei. The large, flat glands on the inner surface of the pitchers are also found in the lower part of the pitchers of N. Rajah. This is the reason why I have not distinguished a separate group for this species.

Nepenthes lowii is thought to be most closely related to N. ephippiata. B. H. Danser, who described the latter species in 1928, considered these taxa similar to the point where he could find few reasons to distinguish them in a 1931 article. More recent treatments have retained N. ephippiata as a distinct species and outlined a number of morphological features that distinguish it from N. lowii.

The most obvious differences between these species are seen in the upper pitchers; those of N. ephippiata are less constricted in the middle and have a more developed peristome. In addition, N. ephippiata has short tubercles on the underside of the lid, as opposed to the long bristles of N. lowii.