Triphyophyllum peltatum (Dioncophyllaceae)--Cultivating a Clandestine Carnivore

Jan Schlauer¹, Heiko Rischer¹, Kristina Wolf¹, Gerhard Bringmann¹, Helmut Fleischmann², Uwe Buschbom², Martin Duschek², Andreas Kreiner², Friedrich Thiele²

¹ Institute of Organic Chemistry • University of Würzburg • Am Hubland • 97074 Würzburg • Germany

² Botanic Garden • University of Würzburg • Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 2 • 97082 Würzburg • Germany

The systematics, life history, natural environment, and the carnivory of the rare tropical West African high forest liana Triphyophyllum peltatum are presented. Experience with cultivating T. peltatum in the greenhouse and in vitro at the University of Würzburg (Bringmann et al., 1999) is shared. For the first time it was possible to study the whole life cycle of this species in cultivation. Carnivory was found not to be a prerequisite to reach full maturity or to produce flowers and seeds. The facultative carnivory of T. peltatum is an intriguing aspect of carnivorous plant evolution within Nepenthales, a flowering plant order that contains four different carnivorous plant families, viz. Nepenthaceae, Droseraceae, Drosophyllaceae, and Dioncophyllaceae p.p., together with non-carnivorous ones, including Polygonaceae, Plumbaginaceae, Ancistrocladaceae, and Dioncophyllaceae p.p.).

The secondary metabolism of T. peltatum is as unusual as the plant itself. Besides plumbagin and similar quinones, which are characteristic for Nepenthales, the plant contains naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids (Bringmann et al., 1998), which are so far known only from Dioncophyllaceae and Ancistrocladaceae. Biosynthetic and chemotaxonomical aspects of these secondary metabolites are discussed.