Nepenthes extincta

Nepenthes extincta
Botanical illustration of N. extincta from Cheek and Jebb's type description
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Nepenthaceae
Genus:	Nepenthes
Species:	N. extincta
Binomial name
Nepenthes extincta Jebb & Cheek (2013)[1]

Nepenthes extincta is a tropical pitcher plant native to the Philippines. It is known only from Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, where it has been recorded at c. 400 metres (1,300 ft) altitude.^[1]

This species belongs to the informal "N. alata group", which also includes N. alata, N. ceciliae, N. copelandii, N. graciliflora, N. hamiguitanensis, N. kitanglad, N. kurata, N. leyte, N. mindanaoensis, N. negros, N. ramos, N. saranganiensis, and N. ultra.^[1][2][3][4] These species are united by a number of morphological characters, including winged petioles, lids with basal ridges on the lower surface (often elaborated into appendages), and upper pitchers that are usually broadest near the base.^[1][2]

The specific epithet extincta was chosen to indicate that this species may already be extinct in the wild.^[1] Nepenthes extincta is known from a single herbarium specimen collected in 1978.^[1]

It has been suggested that the only known specimen of N. extincta might represent a natural hybrid between N. merrilliana and N. mindanaoensis, as both of these species grow near the type locality of N. extincta and share many morphological features with it.^[5]

References

1. Cheek, M. & M. Jebb (2013). Recircumscription of the Nepenthes alata group (Caryophyllales: Nepenthaceae), in the Philippines, with four new species. European Journal of Taxonomy 69: 1–23. doi:10.5852/ejt.2013.69
2. Cheek, M. & M. Jebb (2013). Typification and redelimitation of Nepenthes alata with notes on the N. alata group, and N. negros sp. nov. from the Philippines. Nordic Journal of Botany 31(5): 616–622. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.2012.00099.x
3. Cheek, M. & M. Jebb (2013). Nepenthes ramos (Nepenthaceae), a new species from Mindanao, Philippines. Willdenowia 43(1): 107–111. doi:10.3372/wi.43.43112
4. Cheek, M. & M. Jebb (2013). Nepenthes ultra (Nepenthaceae), a new species from Luzon, Philippines. Blumea, published online on October 24, 2013. doi:10.3767/000651913X675124
5. Gronemeyer, T., W. Suarez, H. Nuytemans, M. Calaramo, A. Wistuba, F.S. Mey & V.B. Amoroso (2016). Two new Nepenthes species from the Philippines and an emended description of Nepenthes ramos. Plants 5(2): 23. doi:10.3390/plants5020023

• Cheek, M. (2014). 12 new carnivorous plant species from the Philippines. Kew Science Blog, 20 January 2014.
• Smith, L. (2014). Pitcher perfect - but carnivorous plants are at risk. The Independent, January 5, 2014.