A New Vietnamese Nepenthes

Bonjour tout le monde!

C’est une nouvelle espèce de Nepenthes, cây nắp ấm của Việt Nam. 

Pictured below is highly likely to be a novel species of Nepenthes from Vietnam. So far it does not key to any known species in the Indonchina to Thailand region and the very thin straplike leaves, glabrous stems, and bractless flowers is an unusual combination in the complex. I have discussed this plant with several botanists both in Viet Nam and abroad and it does appear to be agreed it is likely new, with Vietnamese experts insisting it is unknown. Unfortunately, while they say it is new, there appears to be very little impotence for the local botanists to describe it as they have known about it for years and orchids appear to have priority. I do hope it is formally described this year. 

Upper pitchers are pale yellow green, typically with a lighter, nearly whitish, peristome.

A lowland species growing to around 200 masl, it has very thin leathery leaves and a glabrous stem unlike N. smilesii. 

The lower pitcher phase appears to be short lived, with mainly uppers being observed on vining plants with short internodes that scramble over the surrounding short brush. 

The species is more diminutive than the highland N. smilesii populations

One of the few lower pitchers. 

A seed stalk of the novel plant with no bracts. Nepenthes smilesii stalks have bracts at the base of the pendicel.