Re: my 1st Bicalcarata upper pitcher
 

Intermedia pitchers looks like half of a lower and upper pitcher. It is when the plant is starting to change its pitchers to upper pitchers.

Just to add on what casey said... As the plant vines, the stems cannot hold the weight of the more globose lower pitchers with the digestive fluids in the pitchers. Even if its tendrils manage to grab hold of something or other plants around it, when there is a strong wind the digestive fluids will be shaken out and the weight of the pitchers (if it were lower pitchers on upper vines) will swing and break the main vine . As such they need to produce more slender and lighter pitchers.

Some experts say upper pitchers are also shaped to catch a different set of insect such as flying insects as compared to lower pitchers that catches mostly crawling insects. That's why you will notice that lower pitchers have "ladders" while upper pitchers do not have them. The ladders are located infront of the pitcher and look like spikes. It helps crawling insects climb up the pitcher.

For some species like ampullaria, the upper pitchers are not functional, meaning it is not able to capture and digest insects. It also does not look like pitchers.

Re: my 1st Bicalcarata upper pitcher
 

Lovely pitcher with the fangs. Biclarata on my wish list still. Have a small viking x biclarata growing nicely with tiny pitchers half cm. size. Will full grown pitchers of this hybrid have fangs too? Cheers, hosh

Re: my 1st Bicalcarata upper pitcher
 

Off topic : To add to what David said, besides from the morphology difference between the lower, intermediate and upper pitcher, the digestive fluid also might be different depending on the species of Nepenthes. For example, the viscosity of the digestive fluid for N. rafflesiana's upper pitcher will tends to be sticky glue/gooie like substance to avoid being spill out from the pitcher in a windy day, lower pitcher usually stay put/rest on the ground hence the digestive fluid in the lower pitcher tends to be very fluid and watery.

hosh,
this hybrid usually have signs of vestigel fang of N. bicalcarata but if it's a seed grown plant, you might never know...

Re: my 1st Bicalcarata upper pitcher
 

Thanks.

Re: my 1st Bicalcarata upper pitcher
 

that pitcher looks so artistic! thanks for sharing. my bical is just a baby so i've got to wait for many, many years to see anything like that.

Re: my 1st Bicalcarata upper pitcher
 

beside pitcher's shapes another characteristic to note was the position of tendril.

lower - tendril infront the pitcher.
intermediate- infront or by the side
upper- tendril formed behind

Re: my 1st Bicalcarata upper pitcher
 

This plant about 5-6 feet tall, it has been a year not produce pitcher after 2 time flower. the upper pitch leaf is about 14 inch long, half size of the previous lower pitch leaf.

Re: my 1st Bicalcarata upper pitcher
 

wow, thanks for all the explanation, I'm addicted to such interesting stuff now...cann't wait to get home and wait for phangst package*biggrin2*

Re: my 1st Bicalcarata upper pitcher
 

lower(the lid facing inside?or outside?):
\.. __\
.\.(...)
..\(...)
...\\_/
....V

Re: my 1st Bicalcarata upper pitcher
 

Hi Marvin....What you typed out is something like a lower