Title
An Ethnobotanical Note on Nepenthes mirabilis in Lao PDR
Author(s)
Platt, Steven G. ;Thongsavath, Oudomxay ;Outhanekone, Pakham ;Rainwater, Thomas R.
Published
2018
Publisher
Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society
Abstract
The family Nepenthaceae (Tropical Pitcher Plants or Monkey Cups), consists of a single genus (Nepenthes) with >140 species (Cheek & Jebb, 2013) occurring in southern China, India (Assam), Sri Lanka, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, northern Australia (Queensland), and eastern Madagascar (Juniper et al., 1989; McPherson, 2009). Nepenthaceae are characterized by liquid-containing pitchers suspended by tendrils growing from the leaf midrib (Clarke, 2002). Pitcher plants obtain nutrients (especially nitrogen and phosphorous) by trapping and digesting invertebrate prey in the pitcher (Etkin, 2008). Digestion of prey is accomplished by the combined action of enzymes and symbiotic insect larvae (flies, midges, and mosquitos) adapted to the low pH of the pitcher environment (Juniper et al., 1989; Clarke, 2002; Etkin, 2008).
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