Nepenthes

Nepenthes
A rosette plant of N. peltata growing on Mount Hamiguitan, Mindanao, Philippines
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Nepenthaceae
Dumort.[1]
Genus: Nepenthes
L.
Species

See below or separate list.

Diversity[2]
150+ species
Synonyms[3]

Nepenthes (/nɪˈpɛnθz/) is a genus of carnivorous plants, also known as tropical pitcher plants, or monkey cups, in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus includes about 170 species,[4] and numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are mostly liana-forming plants of the Old World tropics, ranging from South China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines; westward to Madagascar (two species) and the Seychelles (one); southward to Australia (four) and New Caledonia (one); and northward to India (one) and Sri Lanka (one). The greatest diversity occurs on Borneo, Sumatra, and the Philippines, with many endemic species. Many are plants of hot, humid, lowland areas, but the majority are tropical montane plants, receiving warm days but cool to cold, humid nights year round. A few are considered tropical alpine, with cool days and nights near freezing. The name "monkey cups" refers to the fact that monkeys were once thought to drink rainwater from the pitchers.

  1. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III" (PDF). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
  2. ^ Cheek, M.; Jebb, M. (2013). "The Nepenthes micramphora (Nepenthaceae) group, with two new species from Mindanao, Philippines". Phytotaxa. 151 (1): 25–34. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.151.1.2.
  3. ^ "Nepenthes L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  4. ^ Christenhusz, M. J. M.; Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3): 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.