My growing collection of neps

@Dogrem wanted to see how nectaries other than ones on the undersides of the pitcher lid look under UV excitation.

Here's a N. x ventrata lower pitcher with its peristome absolutely soaked in nectar:
  • You can see that the lid nectaries fluoresce under UV, but the nectar being secreted under the lid does not.
  • You can also see that the thick sticky nectar covering the peristomes fluoresces, but any nectaries aren't visible given how bright the rest of the peristome is.
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Here are some extrafloral nectaries along the vine:
  • You can see here that the nectar being secreted at these nectaries also fluoresces under UV.
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In these photos, I've wiped away the nectar so that you can see the nectary. It appears as a small, slightly brown bump with a pore.
  • You can see that for these photos both the nectaries and nectar fluoresce under UV.
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Just for fun, here's how the nectar and extrafloral nectaries look on a completely unrelated plant (Dracaena eilensis):
The nectaries are the little glowing bumps along the ridge.

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Very impressive!
Did you tried to put some nectar on your finger to see it it's shiny on itself?
Or is the nectar gland behind that is shining, and the liquid nectar act like a magnifier and shines by transparency (but it doesn't produce light by itself)?
 
Dogrem said:
Very impressive!
Did you tried to put some nectar on your finger to see it it's shiny on itself?
Or is the nectar gland behind that is shining, and the liquid nectar act like a magnifier and shines by transparency (but it doesn't produce light by itself)?
Click to expand...

Both the nectar and peristome are fluorescent.

I haven't bothered to take a higher quality photo, but here's a bit of peristome nectar pulled onto a black anodized aluminum surface.
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N. veitchii BE-4033 has been open for 2 weeks now.
  • The stripes are darkening and the rest of the peristome is taking on a golden yellow colour. No complaints, seems to be aging gracefully.
  • Currently working on another pitcher
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N. truncata
  • Making a new leaf, just passed the weird-toothless-dionaea-looking phase (Jul 19 to 24).
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N. robcantleyi BE-3517
  • Also making a new leaf & pitcher
  • Seems happy, growing pretty quickly in my hands
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Couple updates:

N. veitchii (BE-4033):
  • This pitcher is 32 days old and still hanging onto its stripes
  • Greenish-yellow parts of the peristome have darkened to a deep golden yellow
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N. robcantleyi (BE-3517):
  • Made a new pitcher. Freshly open but already more pigmented than the older one
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N. clipeata:
  • Made a new pitcher, but is still tiny.
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N. truncata:
  • Working on a new pitcher, looks a bit more squat than the older ones.
  • The new leaf is a fair bit bigger than the old ones.
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N. veitchii (BE-4033)'s second pitcher has opened.
The pitcher and the leaf it's growing from are both a bit smaller than the previous leaf and pitcher. This plant probably hasn't been enjoying the summer heat so much. Maybe 30 C+ days and ~25 C nights were a bit much.

This pitcher is still nicely striped and has good colour though. I've since fixed the night time temperatures and the new leaf it's making (in the background) is much larger.
These pitchers seem to hang onto their stripes pretty well too. The previous pitcher opened over 6 weeks ago and still looks the same as above (post-39976). I wonder how long the pitchers will last.
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I realized that I haven't really given any attention to my ventricosa hybrids.

N. lowii x ventricosa 'red' from Colasanti's:
  • Left: May 7th, 2022
  • Right: Aug 24th, 2022
  • Grows quickly, adapted to relatively high PPFD (220 umol m^-2 s) and has grown 5 leaves in the last 3.5 months
  • Its newest pitchers have started forming a nice wide peristome
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N. ampullaria x ventricosa "Bloody Mary" from Borneo Exotics
  • Left: June 12, 2022
  • Right: August 24, 2022
  • Arrived with large, thin, and floppy leaves on a very thin stem with large internodal distance
  • Acclimated to 220 umol m^-2 s (most of the old leaves burnt off)
  • New growth is a much tighter rosette with thicker compact leaves and tight internodes
  • Recently started making its first pitcher.

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N. ventricosa BE-3278
  • Left: June 12, 2022
  • Right: August 24, 2022
  • Arrived as a tiny rosette on a long stem
  • Acclimated to 220 umol m^-2 s, new growth is now a very compact rosette with a nearly nonexistent stem
  • Extremely fast grower. This plant has consistently grown a new leaf & pitcher every 1-2 weeks.

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Old reliable doing pretty well just hanging out in a window and otherwise being ignored.
I recently pruned off the main vine and left a couple basal shoots to grow out.
N. x Ventrata is plain compared to some showier species, but it's still a very attractive plant and definitely scores points for how easily it grows.

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