NEPENTHES - flowering

     Male and female plants produce flowers of different sexes. The inflorescence is a cluster, which in some species can be up to 120 cm long. The side branches of the cluster may be further branched. The flower is 4-numbered with only a single whorl of bracts. In the male flowers (see photos), 20-30 stamens have grown together into a column, which at the top bears the anthers in 1-2 whorls. The female flowers have an ovary with 4 compartments. A newly opened flower is about 1 cm in diameter, but after a few days the bracts bend back. The color varies from green to yellow and orange to red. In several species and especially in male flowers, the color changes with age from green to red (see photo). The flowers are insect pollinated, have nectaries and emit fragrance, most in male flowers. A capsule can hold up to 400 seeds, which are equipped with two wings, so that the seed has a total length of up to 35 mm, depending on the species. The majority of the species have wind dispersal. The two photos show the hybrid Nepenthes x mixta.

 H. S. Heide-Jørgensen, January 2010. Translated January 2024