LJ_Tan - Nepenthes

[funkychips]

Originally Posted by NepNut

LJ,
When the whole plant of N. mirabilis var. globosa recieved strong light, the leaves and stems will turned to reddish coloration, that's because of formation of carotenoid (reddish pigments) by the plant to protect against strong light.

When the plant recieved strong sunlight, the developing pitchers will turned to red color. However, if after the pitcher open and stay exposed to sunlight, the pitcher will lose it's redness after it's aged (usually after 2-3 weeks), meaning the pitcher will become greenish and pale in color. This is what we refer as "bleaching" effect.

To show you what I mean....

N. mirabilis var globosa - 1 : Pitcher developed in a layer of LSM. The top part of the pitcher exposed to sunlight.


N. mirabilis var globosa - 2 (same pitcher): This is how the whole pitcher looks like. You'll see a clear distinction of coloration where the part of the pitcher that wasn't exposed to sunlight. The whitish part won't regain the redness once it's bleached even you hide it away from sunlight by now.


N. mirabilis var globosa - 3 : This is how the pitcher will look like when it's developed and kept away from sunlight.



Please know that in nature, most N. mirabilis and it's variant grow under full direct sunlight. Hope this help.

That's really interesting Nepnut!! I'm going to start hiding my pitchers away in shade from now on :P