From the Greek nepenthe which, in Homer’s Odyssey, was the drug Helen mixed with wine and loosely translated as ‘without care’; hence also meaning grief-relieving because of its alleged medicinal properties.
For description see family.
The species and natural hybrids are divided loosely into 2 groups with different temperature requirements: the 'lowland' species that occur below alt. 1000 m needing a minimum winter temperature of about 19ºC, day temperatures in the yearly range of about 27-38ºC and night temperatures not less than 21ºC; the 'highland' species that occur above 1000 m require a minimum winter temperature of about 10ºC, day temperatures in the yearly range of about 18-21ºC and night temperatures not less than about 13ºC.
Peter Tsang of Queensland imported the species into Australia in the early 1970s. His fine collection was, upon his death, in 1984, bequeathed to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha where it is now on public display and a memorial to his pioneering work. Popularity of the genus increased in Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the formation of Carnivorous Plant Societies in several states. An increasing demand for Nepenthes saw several collectors importing plants – Geoff Roberts, Peter Anderson and Phil Mann are just a few who have imported plants through the 1980s and 1990s. Highland species and hybrids are easier to grow in southern Australian states due to their lower temperature requirement.
The presence of numerous hybrids and variants makes identification of cultivated plants extremely difficult. Only general descriptions of the species are given here. Readers are directed to the colour pictures and descriptions in the recommended literature.
Hybrids (showing a mix of parent-species characters):
N. ×hookeriana (N. ampullaria × N. rafflesiana), naturally occurring hybrid.
N. ×merrilliata (N. alata × N. merrilliana), naturally occurring hybrid.
N. ×mixta (N. maxima × N. northiana), originated Tivey, 1892.
N. ×rokko (N. maxima × M. thorelii), originated Yamakawa.
N. ×rufescens (N. distillatoria × (N. gracilis ×(N. gracilis × N. rafflesiana))), originated Court, 1888.
N. ×ventrata (N. alata × N. ventricosa), naturally occurring hybrid.
N. ×wrigleyana (N. mirabilis × (N. ampullaria × N. rafflesiana)), originated Court, 1880.
Source: (1997). Nepenthaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
