Actually, many, if not most of the so called
N. ventricosa in cultivation are in my opinion a hybrid population of N. ventrata, some leaning more towards
N. alata, such as this one, and others more towards
N. ventricosa. It's a very complex hybrid population, with back crosses, resulting in a spectrum of various traits. There are several differences with them and the true species, (which is very rare in cultivation), the size of the plant, easily twice the size of these hybrid population, I've had pitchers from 8 to 12 inches in length, with 14 inch leaves and very ridged, and stiff, almost woody pitchers (like
N. lowii), much more ventricose (hence the name) also much like
N. lowii, and generally has no red spots, (just like
N. bicalcarata), it is either all green, or turns a blood red without any spots
. The pitchers are very waxy and have absolutely no trace of any wings. The leaves are also very long and lanceolate, and are also rather stiff
. Another important difference is in the peristome which is very wide, with many points, and nearly horizontal, without coming together, and riding up towards the lid. One other important difference is that this true species
N. ventricosa is a true highland plant, grows best under cool conditions, and grows very slowly, very rarely flowers, and can even tolerate a mild frost, the hybrid populations plants are all lowland plants and most seem to do better in warmer conditions, and cannot tolerate any frost, and grows moderately fast and flowers easily.
One clone of this goes by "porcelain clone" and here's a picture:
