Nepenthes murudensis

Nepenthes murudensis is a climbing plant. The stem can attain a length of 5 m and is up to 5 mm wide. Internodes are triangular in cross section and up to 10 cm long.

Leaves are coriaceous and adnate. The lamina is oblong-elliptic in shape and reaches 12 cm in length by 4 cm in width. The apex of the lamina is rounded-obtuse and the base is decurrent for up to 2 cm. Up to 5 longitudinal veins are present on either side of the midrib. Pinnate veins are indistinct. Rosette and lower pitchers are ovoid in the basal portion, becoming sub-cylindrical above. They reach 20 cm in height and 5 cm in width. A pair of fringed wings (≤6 mm wide) runs down the front of the pitcher. The waxy zone of the inner surface is well developed. The pitcher mouth is ovate and has an oblique insertion. The peristome is a flattened cylinder in cross section and is up to 5 mm wide. The lid or operculum is ovate-obovate in shape and lacks appendages. It has a rounded apex, a truncate base, and measures up to 6 cm by 5 cm. Large nectar glands are concentrated along the midrib of the lid. An unbranched spur (≤9 mm long) is inserted near the base of the lid.

Upper pitchers are similar to their lower counterparts, but differ in being more cylindrical and elongate. They are also larger, growing to 30 cm in height. Wings are reduced to a pair of prominent ribs in upper pitchers. …

Nepenthes murudensis is endemic to the summit area of Mount Murud in Sarawak, Borneo, and is the only Nepenthes species endemic to the Kelabit Highlands. It has an elevational distribution of 2,000–2,423 m above sea level.

The typical habitat of this species consists of stunted montane scrub and ridge vegetation, which rarely exceeds 1.5 m in height. The species also occurs in mossy forest. Nepenthes murudensis has no known natural hybrids, although N. hurrelliana, N. lowii, N. muluensis and N. tentaculata also occur on the mountain. In 1996, John De Witte reported observing N. reinwardtiana on Mount Murud, but other authors have failed to find it on the mountain. Nepenthes murudensis often scrambles over low vegetation, but also grows as rosettes in open areas. Botanist Andrew Hurrell has described plants growing on the summit as small rosettes rarely exceeding 30 cm in height, with proportionately huge pitchers sometimes measuring over 30 cm themselves. Two true toad species from Mount Murud, Pelophryne linanitensis and Pelophryne murudensis, are sympatric with N. murudensis and may breed in its pitchers. The conservation status of N. murudensis is listed as Least concern on the IUCN Red List based on an assessment carried out in 2018. Previous assessments, including that by Charles Clarke in 1997, classified the species as Endangered based on the IUCN criteria.

Nepenthes murudensis was known for some time prior to its description, although authors differed as to its identity. In 1988, Anthea Phillipps and Anthony Lamb suggested that it might represent a natural hybrid between N. reinwardtiana and N. tentaculata. However, in their 1996 monograph, Pitcher-Plants of Borneo, the authors treated it as a species in the process of being described, referring to it as "Nepenthes murudensis Culham ined.". This name had been given to the taxon informally by Alastair Culham and was in use since at least 1994. Nepenthes murudensis was formally described in 1997 by Matthew Jebb and Martin Cheek in their monograph, "A skeletal revision of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae)", published in the botanical journal Blumea. At the time of its description, botanists were divided on whether N. murudensis should be considered a species, although the consensus view held that it was of hybridogenic origin. The holotype of N. murudensis, Yii Puan Ching S 44623, was collected on September 13, 1982, between the first and second summits of Mount Murud. It is deposited at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Another specimen, Beaman 11461, was collected by John H. Beaman between April 10 and April 17, 1995, from the summit ridge of Mount Murud at an elevation of between 2,300 and 2,400 m above sea level. …