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Post by leilani on Jul 29, 2009 23:03:26 GMT -10
I'd like to spin off a new thread out of this discussion ......
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Post by marka on Aug 6, 2009 12:13:12 GMT -10
An increase in altitude as you go north may limit it's northern expansion; but I don't know why it hasn't been reported from southern Guangxi which is between Guangdong and Vietnam where it also occurs. Do you mean latitude?
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Post by marka on Aug 6, 2009 12:19:30 GMT -10
However the species themselves and their increase in distribution seems to me to be relatively recent; otherwise such widespread species as N. mirabilis would have started to break up into many species in each of the separated populations throughout its range through both selection and random genetic drift. LeeB. Im glad that occasionally common-sense of the barely educated occasionally coincides with the educated- guess of the academic.
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leeb
Urceolatae
Posts: 24
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Post by leeb on Aug 6, 2009 15:21:27 GMT -10
Hi Marka, good to hear that you gree with me. And I really did mean altitude, as you go north away from the coast in S. W. China you come to hills or small mountains, as this is already the furthest north Nepenthes reach I think the decrease in temperature with altitude would rapidly become limiting; also as you move away from the coast you lose the moderating affect the sea has on temperature. LeeB.
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Post by marka on Aug 7, 2009 8:19:29 GMT -10
I see what you mean, i've often wondered how far north they creep along the coast beyond Hong Kong, or if HK is the northern limit. They seemingly never got the subtropical southern part of Taiwan, but maybe they are heading that way and just didn't get there yet?
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leeb
Urceolatae
Posts: 24
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Post by leeb on Aug 7, 2009 13:10:02 GMT -10
The Chinese may know how far north N. mirabilis goes but they don't say in anything I have seen. They only publish to province level in their flora. I have seen it mentioned as occurring in Macau, Hong Kong and Zhuhai which are adjacent to each other. No mention of it in Shantou or Shanwei. In the ice ages when sea levels were lower the climate was probably too cold for it to reach Taiwan, it may have been restricted to Hainan which was attached as a peninsula to south China, and re-invaded Guangdong as the climate warmed up. It is possible it is still moving along the south China coast eastwards.
LeeB.
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