Hair on nepenthes

[alcran]

What is the point of the hair on neps? Do they provide uv protection, predator detterence, increased surface area for a hormone or attractant to spread, or area for water to condense on? Has anyone else though about this? I wonder what use hairs could be on a non feeling, non thinking organism.

[kentosaurs]

Hmmmm well i had once thought of that but so far had no idea too........Maybe it could be like you said area for water to condense on so that it doesn't dry out that fast considering that neps like veitchii normally grows by clinging on to trees which means not much water retaines..No idea..

Ken

[paphioboy]

I am not sure about this, but in the case of some hairy orchids (Dend infundibulum and some erias), hairs on the leaves and stems function to repel water. so, could it be that the hairs prevent excesive moisture on the leaves which could lead to fungal infections, especially since neps come from such humid environments..? just my 2 cents..

[kentosaurs]

Hi Paphio

Good point....like my neps or some CPs if i keep them to wet which i probally have with my VFT it died? Cause of black spot thingy..Anyways even if it its for repeling water for a plant like veitchii which grows hangin on trees which means very good drainage and water doesn't stay anywhere near or on the plant for very long...So what would be the use for those hairs? Anyways i talking without any sort of info..

Ken

[kentosaurs]

Hi

Left out something...Also for example N albo which are normally found in the wild in quite dry areas compared to most neps...Which means less moisture less humidity i assume and + penang albo is hairy and can usually take lower humidity and higher light levels sooo could be something like adapatation to lower humidity? Anyways something to do with water my thoughts would be..

Ken

[paphioboy]

Well, I meant that since the leaves have hair, then water will run off and not stay in the crown of the plant, leading to rot. But roots do not have such hair (root hairs are obviously different), so the roots still can absorb water. In the case of veitchii, even though it is an epiphyte, it often grows on trees overhanging rivers, so there is constant humidity from evaporation. Tree bark actually absorbs quite a lot of moisture too.

[funkychips]

Yeah I vouch for the same opinion with you guys. Come to think of it physical barriers are like 'breakers' or 'dispersers' of natural forces. You have nosehair to blockout dust and water. You have hair on your skin as a heat insulant when your body gets cold. So it's probably the same purpose plants have hair: to get rid of excess water in contact with the plant surface. Although I don't know if it's really true for Neps, I just thought of it from logical perspective.

But there's one thing that I don't get it, if you say a plant wards off excessive moisture by use of hairs, for example veitchii, which is largely epiphytic (supposedly but do correct me if I'm wrong), it stays on trees which means rainstorms have the biggest impact for getting too wet. Same goes for albo which grows exposed on the hills and slopes to which protection from rain is at its most minimal. However, when it comes to gracilis, it is an open grower, in fact more exposed than albo and it does not have hair .That's the weird part. My guess is probably gracilis has waxy tough leaves, but anything other than that is just fuzzy to me. Guys what do you think?

[paphioboy]

funkychips, i'm not sure of this, but from the numerous gracilis I see growing wild along the N-S highway, most grow on rocky slopes which are exposed to the elements. I think in this case, a waxy costing on the leaves is more important as it prevents excessive drying out through transpiration. On the other hand, most neps with hairy leaves tend to grow where precipitation and humidity are high (primary and cloud forests), so they don't dry out as much. Not sure about albo though.. Maybe its just more tolerant of drying out than others..