Nepenthes undulatifolia

Description & Care

Tom Bennet

By Tom Bennet

Last updated on May 7, 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 undulatifolia is a rare and fascinating highland species from Sulawesi. It’s known to grow on just two remote mountain tops, both of which are very small populations threatened by poaching. Until recently this extremely rare species was seldom seen in collections, and all cultivated specimens were grown from wild-collected seed. However, thanks to the tireless efforts of botanists like Andreas Wistuba, this wonderful plant is now somewhat easier to obtain - the first horticulturally-produced grex of seeds has been produced, and multiple individuals are now in tissue culture. That said, it’s still not exactly easy or cheap to obtain.

The species is named for its wavy leaf margins (which undulate), but this isn’t its only recognisable trait. This is a highly distinctive plant, which can easily be identified by its very round tubby pitchers, the dense coat of white hair which covers the plant’s stem, and the peltate tendril insertion (meaning the tendril joins the lower surface of the leaf, not the leaf tip, similar to N. rajah and N. peltata).

The pitchers vary in colour between individuals. I’ve seen some plants with lime green pitchers while others are orange or even deep red. The lowers have prominent frilly wings running down the front, and a round, almost horizontal pitcher opening.

My plant - which came from the first horticulturally-produced grex made by Wistuba in Germany - is an easy grower and faster than many of my other highlanders. It definitely sulks from time to time, probably when the temperatures get a bit too high for its liking in summer. It also prefers a bit of shade, so I’ve placed it in a dimmer spot in the greenhouse.

In short, I’d highly recommend N. undulatifolia for any highland Nepenthes collection. It’s a charming, easy-growing, and very distinctive species with many lovely and unique characteristics.