I HAVE A FAIRLY LARGE COLLECTION OF CARNIVOROUS PLANTS OF THE WORLD. AMONG ANY FAMILY OF PLANTS THERE ARE ALWAYS SOME MUTATIONS AND/OR VARIANTS THAT IMPROVE EVERY COLLECTION. I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU A VERY SPECIAL PLANT THAT IS PART OF MY NEPENTHES (ASIAN CARNIVOROUS PITCHER PLANT) COLLECTION.

ON SPRING 2006, MY OLDEST AND LARGER NEPENTHES RAFFLESIANA (FROM MALAYSIA) PRODUCED A VERY ABNORMAL FLOWER THAT I CALLED NEPENTHES RAFFLESIANA -LOTUS FLOWER-. THE NAME COMES FROM THE STRANGE FORM OF THE FLOWER. TO BETTER UNDERSTAN THE RARETY OF THES LOTUS-SHAPED FLOWER I WILL GENERALLY DESCRIBE THE NORMAL FORM OF NEPENTHES’ INFLORESCENCE.

NEPENTHES PRODUCE AN INFLORESCENCE IN THE FORM OF A SPIKE. THIS SPIKE CAN PRODUCE SEVERAL DOZENS OF SMALL FLOWERS. THESE FLOWERS WILL HAVE 4 SEPALS, THE STAMEN, OR THE PISTIL, DEPENDING ON THE SEX OF THE PLANT. NEPENTHES ARE DIOECIOUS, WHICH MEANS THAT A SINGLE PLANT WILL PRODUCE FLOWER OF A SINGLE SEX THRU ALL ITS LIVE.

BELLOW YOU CAN SEE A NORMAL INFLORESCENCE OF NEPENTHES, IN THIS CASE, A NORMAL NEPENTHES RAFFLESIANA INFLORESCENCE:

THE STRANGE LOTUS SHAPED FLOWER WAS ONE OF A KIND. IT WAS A LONELY, HUGE FLOWER AND HAD MORE THAN 12 SPEPALS. BELLOW YOU CAN SEE THE PICTURES OF THE LOTUS SHAPED RAFFLESIANA FLOWER, SO YOU CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND WHY THIS FLOWER WAS SO UNIQUE. THESE PICTURES WERE TAKEN MORE THAN A YEAR AFTER THE FLOWER FIRST OPEN. THAT IS WHY IT LOOKS A BIT DRY:

BELLOW YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE PITCHERS OF NEPENTHES RAFFLESIANA. THESE PITCHERS ARE THE STOMACHS OF NEPENTHES PLANTS, SINCE THEY ARE USED TO ATTRACT, DROWN AND DIGEST INSECTS AND SMALL ANIMALS. THE PITCHERS LOOK VERY DIFFERENT ONE FROM THE OTHER, BUT BOTH WERE PRODUCED BY THE SAME SPECIES. THE MORE COLORFUL PITCHERS IS A LOWER PITCHER. YOUNG PLANTS PRODUCE THESE PITCHERS. THE LESS COLORFUL PITCHER IS AN UPPER PITCHER, WHICH ARE PRODUCED BY MATURE PLANTS. THIS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PTICHERS IS NORMAL IN NEPENTHES GENUS.

I AM MAKING AN EXTENSE RESEARCH AND A LOT OF OBSERVATION WITH THIS PLANT TO FIND OUT WHY THIS PLANT HAS PRODUCED THIS FLOWER AND IF THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT IT WILL DO THE SAME IN THE FUTURE.