Nepenthes nebularum

Description & Care

Tom Bennet

By Tom Bennet

Last updated on Apr 20, 2025

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 nebularum is - like its close relative N. robcantleyi - a species steeped in controversy! Should it be regarded as a subspecies of N. robcantleyi? Is N. robcantleyi itself a natural hybrid between N. nebularum and N. truncata? I’m not going to focus on these debates today. If you feel particularly strongly one way or the other, I suggest you head on over to my page on Nepenthes robcantleyi. Here, I’ll instead focus on my experiences growing N. nebularum.

This species is a native of Mindanao in the Philippines, where it grows in the trees as an epiphyte. Like N. truncata, it has large, glossy, heart-shaped leaves and can produce enormous pitchers when mature. The pitchers on most cultivated plants (including mine) are orange when freshly-opened, but darken to a coppery brown as they age. Soft, fuzzy hair covers the pitcher body - not long or as coarse as the prickly indumentum on N. veitchii, but striking nonetheless. The peristome is bright yellow on fresh pitchers, darkening first to red and finally to a magnificent shade of purple or black. The whole pitcher is much darker than most cultivated N. robcantleyi.

Two characteristics separate it from its close relatives. First is its small flowers. While I’m yet to flower this species myself, I know that my female N. robcantleyi produces an enormous inflorescence over a metre in height that holds dozens of flowers. Photos of N. nebularum flower spikes and seed heads show them to be comparatively small.

Second, you’ll notice in my photos above that the tendrils tend to curve inwards back towards the centre of the plant. I keep my N. nebularum in a hanging basket, and the tendrils tend to clamp onto the outside of the basket before hardening as the pitcher inflates, anchoring the plant firmly in place. I suppose this reflects its strong preference in the wild for an epiphytic growth habit.

All in all, it’s a lovely species to grow. My plant (which is designated Clone 5 ‘Mt Mayo’ from Wistuba) seems very happy in typical highland conditions - 12°C (54°F) minimum year-round and at least 60-70% humidity, although it prefers the warmer time of year. By contrast N. truncata has never grown particularly well for me, aside from the famous ‘reddish leaves’ highland clone from Wistuba.