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Tropical Pitcherplant

Nepenthes mirabilis

Also called Common Swamp Pitcher Plant, Pitcher Plant

Tropical Pitcherplant
Photo: apes_abroad, CC BY-SA 2.0

Nepenthes mirabilis is a widespread tropical carnivorous pitcher plant, the most widely distributed Nepenthes species, often grown as a climber in humid, bright conditions. Its key to success is consistently humid air and moist but well-aerated roots.

Family
Nepenthaceae (Pitcher-plant family)
Grows as
Climber
Light
Bright indirect, Part shade
Water
Keep the medium consistently moist and use rainwater or distilled water, never letting it dry out completely.
Soil
Free-draining mix of sphagnum moss and perlite or orchid bark.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect below 15 °C
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Indo-China to China (W. & S. Guangdong) and NE. Queensland, Caroline Is.
Climate
wet tropical

About

Nepenthes mirabilis (; from Latin mirabilis "wonderful") is a species of carnivorous plant in the family Nepenthaceae. It is sometimes referred to by the common names common swamp pitcher-plant and tropical pitcher plant.

By far the most widespread of all Nepenthes, its range covers continental Southeast Asia and all major islands of the Malay Archipelago (minus the Lesser Sunda Islands and northern Philippines), stretching from China in the north to Australia in the south. The species exhibits great variability throughout its range. One of the more notable varieties, N. mirabilis var. echinostoma, is endemic to Borneo and possesses an extremely wide peristome.

Where it grows

Nepenthes mirabilis has by far the widest distribution of any Nepenthes species and is known from the following countries and regions: Australia (Cape York Peninsula), Borneo, Cambodia, Caroline Islands (Palau and Yap), China (Guangdong Province, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Macau), D'Entrecasteaux Islands, Java, Laos, Louisiade Archipelago, Maluku Islands, Myanmar, New Guinea, Peninsular Malaysia, Philippines (Dinagat and Mindanao), Sulawesi, Sumatra, Thailand, and Vietnam. It has also been recorded from many smaller islands, including Babi, Bangka, Banyak Islands, Batu Islands, Bengkalis, Enggano, Ko Lanta, Ko Tarutao, Langkawi, Mendol, Mentawai Islands (North Pagai, Siberut, Sipura, and South Pagai), Meranti Islands (Padang, Rangsang, and Tebing Tinggi), Nias, Penang, Phuket, Riau Islands (Lingga Islands and Riau Archipelago), Rupat, Tawi-Tawi, and possibly Wowoni.

Other Nepenthes plants

Nepenthes abalata · Nepenthes abgracilis · Nepenthes adnata · Nepenthes aenigma · Nepenthes alata · Nepenthes alba · Nepenthes albomarginata · Nepenthes alfredoi · Nepenthes alzapan · Flask-Shaped Pitcher-Plant · Nepenthes andamana · Nepenthes angasanensis

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Nepenthes mirabilis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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