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Nepenthes eymae

Nepenthes eymae is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sulawesi in Indonesia, where it grows at elevations of 1,000–2,000 m (3,300–6,600 ft) above sea level. It is very closely related to N. maxima, from which it differs in its wine glass-shaped upper pitchers.

Botanical history
Nepenthes eymae was discovered in central Sulawesi by Dutch botanist Pierre Joseph Eyma in 1938. Eyma's original material of this species includes the herbarium specimen Eyma 3968, which bears a male inflorescence. The holotype, designated as Kurata, Atsumi & Komatsu 102a, was collected on the northern spur of Mount Lumut in Central Sulawesi, at an altitude of 1,850 m, on November 5, 1983. Despite this, the species name is valid per Article 37 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, and Kurata's description includes an illustration of the holotype on page 44. and "Nepenthaceae" (2001), In Pitcher Plants of the Old World, McPherson wrote that "the specific status of N. eymae seems warranted since the two taxa [N. eymae and N. maxima] appear to occur both together and in isolated, self-sustaining communities". ==Description==
Description
Nepenthes eymae is a climbing plant growing to a height of up to 8 m. The two lobes of the peristome are typically separated by a gap of several millimetres under the lid. The peristome ribs are well developed, being up to 2 mm high. The pitcher lid or operculum is ovate to triangular, growing to 5 cm in length by 3 cm in width. They may be shortly contracted directly below the orifice. Upper pitchers are significantly smaller than their terrestrial counterparts, reaching only 15 cm in height by 8 cm in width. Characteristically, the hollow pitcher tube continues past the curved basal portion of the trap and for a few centimetres up the tendril. This is also commonly seen in N. flava, N. fusca, N. jamban, N. ovata, and N. vogelii. The wings are often reduced to ridges, although no vestige of the wings may be apparent in some specimens. These ridges typically run parallel in the lower part of the pitcher, becoming divergent above. The pitcher mouth is horizontal and straight. The peristome is flattened, glossy and up to 1.5 cm wide, being of approximately equal width across its span or broader towards the rear. The peristome ribs are highly reduced but conspicuous, being only up to 0.5 mm high and spaced up to 0.5 mm apart. The rear of the pitcher is elongated into an acuminate neck (≤3 cm long) that may be vertical or inclined forwards at a considerable angle relative to the pitcher orifice. The peristome's inner margin lacks teeth, while the outer margin is often sinuate at the base of the neck. The lid is typically hastate and very narrow, measuring up to 8 cm in length, with basal and middle widths of up to 2.5 and 1 cm, respectively. It bears rounded basal lobes and an obtuse to abruptly rounded apex. It is often curled upwards and may be crenellated at the margins. The presence of appendages is variable in upper pitchers: the lid may possess a pair of appendages as in terrestrial pitchers or may lack them completely. Where these appendages are present, the basal one is hook-shaped and up to 8 mm long and the apical one filiform and up to 12 mm long. The glands of the lower lid surface are similar to those found in lower pitchers. The spur is inserted 10 mm below the lid. It may be simple or bifid at its apex, and measures up to 10 mm in length. Developing pitchers have laterally appressed walls and a pronounced bulge at the rear, which holds the spur upright. The spur has a closed bifurcation at this point. Nepenthes eymae has a racemose inflorescence. The male inflorescence measures up to 30 cm in length by 2.5 cm in width (flowers included), of which the peduncle (≤3 mm wide at its base) constitutes up to 11 cm and the rachis up to 20 cm. Flowers are borne singly or in pairs, the two-flowered partial peduncles being located towards the base of the inflorescence. The partial peduncles are ebracteate and number 30–40. They are approximately 4 mm long, being formed from a pair of basally-united pedicels around 10 mm long. Tepals are elliptic and around 4 mm long by 2 mm wide. The androphore is around 4 mm long and bears an anther head measuring 1 mm by 1.5 mm. An indumentum of soft, orange to reddish-brown hairs is often present on all mature vegetative parts, including the stem, lower lid surface, and laminar surfaces. This covering consists of tufted hairs up to 0.05 mm long and simple hairs typically up to 0.8 mm long (those of the tendril, midrib, lid and spur are denser and longer, reaching 2 mm). However, the indumentum is variable and may be reduced to the point of being completely inconspicuous in some populations. The stem and midribs are yellowish green, and the laminae dark green. The tendrils may be yellow to green or tinged red. In terrestrial traps, the pitcher cups may be white, green, yellow, brown, or red, and are often red speckled. Traps bearing a conspicuous indumentum may have a maroon sheen under certain light conditions. The inner surface ranges from yellow or olive green to almost brown, and commonly has darker blotches of red, brown, or purple. The peristome is usually dark, from reddish brown to black throughout in older specimens. It frequently bears stripes ranging from yellow to black. The operculum is green to brown and often mottled with red to black markings on its lower surface. Upper pitcher are predominantly yellow, sometimes bearing red to purple flecks on the inner surface and lid underside. The appearance of the peristome is variable: it may be a solid orange to red (in which case it is often darker towards the inner edge), or it may be narrowly streaked with red, brown, purple, or black. Tepals are red. No infraspecific taxa of N. eymae have been described. ==Ecology==
Ecology
Nepenthes eymae is endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. It has been recorded from the provinces of Central Sulawesi (including the East Peninsula) and West Sulawesi. Many of the peaks in these regions are poorly known and may support as-yet undiscovered populations of N. eymae. The species has a wide altitudinal distribution of 1,000 to at least 2,000 m above sea level, typically being found above 1,400 m. The species generally grows terrestrially, but may also be epiphytic at higher elevations. It has been recorded from a wide variety of habitats, including heath forest, river banks, exposed sites such as cliff faces and landslides, and disturbed or recovering secondary vegetation (such as previously logged dipterocarp forest). Towards the upper end of its altitudinal range, N. eymae is found among the ridge and summit vegetation of upper montane forest. The species occurs in both shaded and exposed sites, but grows best in the latter. Nepenthes eymae has no confirmed natural hybrids, although introgression may take place where this species is sympatric with N. maxima. The conservation status of N. eymae is listed as Least concern on the IUCN Red List, based on an assessment carried out in 2018. In 2009, Stewart McPherson wrote that the species is "widespread and locally abundant" across its range and that most populations are "remote and not seriously threatened at present". Nepenthes eymae is known to occur in one protected area (Morowali Nature Reserve), although the full extent of its range is unknown. ==Carnivory==
Carnivory
Nepenthes eymae produces an extremely thick, mucilaginous pitcher fluid that coats the entire inner surface of the traps in a thin film. As for the majority of studied highland Nepenthes (but not lowlanders), this value differed significantly (P < 0.001) from that of distilled water, leading the authors to categorise N. eymae as a viscoelastic species. Similarly viscous pitcher fluid is found in the group of closely allied Sumatran species that includes N.&nbsp;aristolochioides, N.&nbsp;dubia, N.&nbsp;flava, N.&nbsp;inermis, N.&nbsp;jacquelineae, N.&nbsp;jamban, N.&nbsp;talangensis, and N.&nbsp;tenuis. These species all share infundibular pitchers. ==Related species==
Related species
Nepenthes eymae belongs to the loosely defined "N. maxima complex", which also includes, among other species, N.&nbsp;boschiana, N.&nbsp;chaniana, N.&nbsp;epiphytica, N.&nbsp;faizaliana, N.&nbsp;fusca, N.&nbsp;klossii, N.&nbsp;maxima, N.&nbsp;platychila, N.&nbsp;stenophylla, and N.&nbsp;vogelii. Nepenthes eymae is very closely allied to the extremely polymorphic N.&nbsp;maxima, which is widespread across Sulawesi, New Guinea, and the Maluku Islands. It differs from this species in its wingless, infundibular and relatively small upper pitchers, ovate lower pitchers, and hastate lid. While some forms of N. maxima also produce entirely infundibular aerial traps, these are not usually as abruptly contracted (and therefore wine glass-shaped) as in N. eymae, and may or may not have fringed wings. Where the two species grow side-by-side, introgression may blur these morphological boundaries and make circumscription difficult. Like N. eymae, N. maxima and N.&nbsp;klossii (another closely related species) also commonly have two lid appendages. Nepenthes fusca of Borneo may produce aerial pitchers resembling those of N. eymae, although its lower pitchers are considerably narrower and cylindrical in shape. The lower pitchers of N. eymae could potentially be confused with those of another Bornean endemic, N.&nbsp;veitchii, although otherwise these species have little in common, particularly with respect to the upper pitchers. ==Notes==
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