Sep 27, 2020
Nepenthes latiffiana and N. domei (Nepenthaceae), two new species of pitcher plants from Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia
From FirenzeUniversity Press Journal: Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Geography (Webbia)
Mohd Norfaizal Ghazalli, Resource Utilisation and Agrobiodiversity Conservation Programme (BE2), Agrobiodiversity and Environment Research Centre, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) Headquarters, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Amin Asyraf Tamizi, Agri-Omics and Bioinformatics Programme (BN1), Biotechnology and Nanotechnology Research Centre, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) Headquarters, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Dome Nikong, Digital Dome Photography, 21500 Permaisuri, Terengganu, Malaysia
Edward Entalai Besi, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Muhamad Ikhawanuddin Mat Esa, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Anuar Rasyidi Mohd Nordin, Resource Utilisation and Agrobiodiversity Conservation Programme (BE2), Agrobiodiversity and Environment Research Centre, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) Headquarters, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
A. Latiff, School of Environmental Science and Natural Resources, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Ahmad Zaki Zaini, Electron Microscopy Unit, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohamad Alias Shakri, Fox Extreme Photography, 21200 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
In Peninsular Malaysia, a total of eleven species of pitcher plants (Nepen-thes) or locally known as “periuk kera” have been recorded (Jebb and Cheek 1997; Cheek and Jebb 2001; Clarke 2001; McPherson 2009). The first taxonomic account of the genus in Peninsular Malaysia was given by Ridley (1924) who recorded a total of ten species, namely N. ampullaria Jack., N. albomarginata Lobb., N. gracillima Ridl., N. alba Ridl., N. ramispina Ridl., N. sanguinea Lindl., N. macfarlanei Hemsl., N. gracilis Korth., N. rafflesianaJack and N. phyllamphora Willd. (= N. mirabilis (Lour.) Druce).
After Ridley’s treatment, there have been some further researches on the genus by Holttum (1940), Kiew (1990), Turner (1995), Clarke (2002), Adam et al. (2005) Latiff et al. (2011), Clarke and Lee (2012) and Latiff and Norsiah (2016) regarding the diversity, distribution, and ecological study of Nepenthes species and natural hybrids. Another taxonomic study of the Peninsular Malaysian taxa was carried out by Rohana in 1988 that covers basic ana-tomical features and systematic study of the species and hybrids. Turner (1995) listed ten species, which instead included two natural hybrids, namely N. × hookeri-ana and N. × trichocarpa, with N. alba and N. ramispi-na being excluded. Clarke (1999) added N. benstonei, a species then known from Bukit Bakar, Kelantan, to the list and the latest was Adam and Hamid (2007) who described N. sharifah-hafsahii which happens to be a natural hybrid between N. gracilis and N. mirabilis rath-er than a true species (McPherson 2009).
The most comprehensive and well accepted taxonomic enumeration works of the genus were given by Jebb and Cheek (1997), Cheek and Jebb (2001) and Clarke (2001) who recognised eleven species. In the course of continuous field trips to the state of Tereng-ganu, the authors had encountered several populations of pitcher plants in Setiu whose features did not match the currently described taxa of Peninsular Malaysia. From this finding, we further analysed the morphological, anatomical and micromorphological characteristics and have discovered two distinct new species (as described in this article).
The descriptions of N. domeiand N. latiffiana herein can be considered as a comprehensive work in the taxa identification as the sheet contains the sterile/fertile parts and pitchers, anatomical and micromorphological evidences, and enumeration of prominent plant characteristics. We also conducted a comparative molecular study on N. domei using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) DNA region to further differentiate it from a closely related species.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/jopt-7950
Read Full Text: https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/webbia/article/view/7950
