Nepenthaceae

A palaeotropical family of lianas, shrubs and herbs, with a single genus, Nepenthes. There are 83 species of the family in the Malesian area, including three nothospecies and one little known species. Most of the species are cultivated and traded across the world as ornamental plants with curiosity value. Locally in Malesia, some species are used for cooking specialist rice dishes, for medicinal uses or for making rope. The introductory part consists of chapters on distribution, fossils, habitat and ecology, reproductive biology, morphology and anatomy, pitcher function, cytotaxonomy, conservation, taxonomy, uses, collecting notes, and spot characters. Regional keys to the species are given. These are based largely on vegetative characters. For each species full references, synonymy, descriptions, ecology, distribution, notes on diagnostic characters and relationships with other species are presented. Species are arranged alphabetically. This treatment is illustrated with 19 full-page line drawings.