Nepenthes perfume

[leilani]

I made a sweet discovery yesterday. I have flowered many Nepenthes over the years and am very accustomed to the often "musky" smell that those flowers produce. It is distinctive and some people like it while other don't. Most often it is the male plants that produce the strongest smells but, sometimes, the females also produce a distinct aroma.

While visiting the highland plants yesterday I noticed the most pleasant perfume in the air. This was a smell unlike anything I have known Nepenthes to produce. It was coming from the male flowers on N. mira and, without a doubt, it was the sweetest smelling Nepenthes I have ever experienced. Not at all like the smell of any other Nepenthes the aroma of N. mira is more like that of an orchid. I'm at a loss for a description. It seems to me to be similar to the smell produced by some Gongora or Stanhopia orchids.

[dvg]

While other Nepenthes species are attracting flies to do their pollinating, one has to wonder what N. mira is attracting to its male flowers.

Leilani, do you know if the female N. mira flowers have a similar scent?





dvg

[mikuláš]

Very interesting! I wonder if this is a feature unique to mira, and whether it might show up in mira hybrids.

[leilani]

I've never flowered a female N. mira so I cannot say if it shares the same scent.

I brought the flowers home and they retained their smell for about 24hr. As the "perfume" faded with age the more familiar "musky" scent began to become more noticeable.

[crazymac]

That's an intriguing observation, Sam. My only N. mira is female -- will have to
check out the scent, next time it's in bloom.

Cheers,
Paul