n. ventricosa

[rsivertsen]

Again, most if not all of the plants labeled as "N. ventricosa" are not really the true species, but this complex hybrid population, and I'm not even entirely sure if it involves N. ventricosa, or N. burkei along with another species, most likely N. alata, which does occur in sympatric populations with this plant.

The main points are that the true species N. ventricosa is a highland plant, while these others are not true highlanders and they cannot tollerate any mild frost, and is also at least twice as large, wider peristome, which is very flat, and nearly horizontal, unlike the oblique angles that the other plants have, and is also quite ventricose, even in the upper pitchers, very much like N. lowii, and also very woody, and stiff as well. As with most complex hybrid populations, there will be individual plants that resemble more or less one of the other species in some of its traits. - Rich