Nepenthes edwardsiana

Description & Care

Tom Bennet

By Tom Bennet

Last updated on Nov 28, 2024

I've been growing a wide variety of carnivorous plants for over 2 decades. I got my first Venus flytrap at age 10 and now have an entire greenhouse full of carnivores.

Nepenthes edwardsiana is one of the most coveted pitcher plants in the world. A native of the Kinabalu and Tambuyukon mountains in Borneo, the species was first described in 1859 by Joseph Dalton Hooker. The taxonomy has been revised several times since then. At one point N. edwardsiana was united with N. villosa as a single species, while its toothy neighbor on Mt Trusmadi - N. macrophylla - was treated as one of its subspecies. To complicate matters further, it forms a natural hybrid with N. villosa which was once described as a separate species called N. harryana. It wasn’t until 1997 that Nepenthes edwardsiana was recognised by botanists as the species we know today.

It is a spectacular plant. The tall, narrow pitchers - which vary in color from yellow through to deep red - can reach up to 50cm in height, making them some of the largest in the genus. The peristome is lined with highly developed ribs that give the appearance of sharp teeth. I grow many of the ‘toothy’ Nepenthes, including N. hamata, N. villosa, and N. macrophylla, but N. edwardsiana is definitely a standout in this regard! Another quality I love about this species is the near-white interior of its pitchers, which - similar to many forms of N. lingulata and N. ramispina - makes for a lovely contrast.

I grow several forms of the species, including plants from Wistuba and individuals from seed, and all have red pitchers. For some reason, most of the plants in cultivation seem to be red - I rarely see the yellow form in collections I visit. It’s a fairly slow plant that thrives on stable conditions, but is definitely less exacting about its need for cool nights than other toothy highlanders.