List of Nepenthes literature


This list of Nepenthes literature is a listing of major published works dealing with the tropical pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes. It includes specialised standalone publications and taxonomic monographs released as part of larger works, but excludes regular journal and magazine articles.
Unless otherwise indicated, all information on individual publications is sourced from them directly. Works are listed chronologically by year of first publication.

Standalone publications

This list includes all works published as standalone books or booklets, with the exception of children's literature, which is listed separately [|below].
NameAuthorYearLanguagePublisherPagesAdditional informationReviews
History of Nepenthes
Isamu Kusakabe1961JapaneseInsectivorous Plant Society54special issue no. 3 of the Journal of Insectivorous Plant Society
Nepenthes of Mount KinabaluShigeo Kurata1976EnglishSabah National Parks Trustees80significantly contributed to popular interest in Nepenthessee article
The Pitcher Plant: Nepenthes khasianaRenu Prova Momin Bordoloi1977EnglishDutta Baruah59part of the Carnivorous Plants of North East India series; 5 pages of plates not included in page count
Pitcher Plants of Peninsular Malaysia & SingaporeRoger Shivas1984EnglishMaruzen Asiaxii + 5824 pages of plates not included in page count"It was the author's intention to make this book serve as a field guide and he succeeded in this by giving us good closeup pictures of upper, lower and sometimes intermediate pitchers of all 12 species that are described. Although the book is small, and ideal for field use, it does not lack any of the essential information that one needs to use in finding these plants and admiring them."
The Grief Vanishing – Nepenthes
Tetsuya Oikawa1992JapaneseParco Co.66part of the Jungle Books series"1 to 9 photos of each mentioned species, information on morphology and functions of Nepenthes. The photos are so beautiful that at least Nepenthes enthusiasts should have this book."
Pitcher-Plants of BorneoAnthea Phillipps & Anthony Lamb1996EnglishNatural History Publications x + 171strongly focused on botanical and horticultural history; mainly illustrated with watercolour paintings by Susan M. Phillippssee article
Nepenthes of BorneoCharles Clarke1997, 2006
EnglishNatural History Publications xii + 207ecological and taxonomic monographsee article
Nepenthes of Sumatra and Peninsular MalaysiaCharles Clarke2001EnglishNatural History Publications x + 326ecological and taxonomic monograph; 1 new species describedsee article
A Guide to the Pitcher Plants of SabahCharles Clarke2001EnglishNatural History Publications iv + 40field guide"The photos are simply incredible, and the book covers important information such as natural habitats. Indeed, it is somewhat like a condensed version of "Nepenthes of Borneo", but rewritten in less scientific language."
A Guide to the Pitcher Plants of Peninsular MalaysiaCharles Clarke2002EnglishNatural History Publications iv + 32field guide"As usual for one of Clarke's books, the text is concise, well written and accurate. But overshadowing the text is the photography, which is truly beautiful as well as illustrative of the essential characters of each species and hybrid."
Borneo: Its Mountains and Lowlands with their Pitcher PlantsHugo Steiner2002EnglishToihaan Publishing Companyviii + 136mainly illustrated with photographs taken by the author between 1992 and 2002"People looking for an interesting but not too technical or scientific work on Borneo and its pitcher plants would especially benefit from this book. The aesthetic aspect remains very good despite two or three low quality photographs "
Pitcher Plants of SarawakCharles Clarke & Ch'ien Lee2004EnglishNatural History Publications vi + 81pocket field guide; mainly illustrated with photographs by Ch'ien Lee"This is a wonderful introduction to the species that grow in this area and is in full colour. With an introduction to Nepenthes, the 25 species plus an environmental examination it whets your appetite to want to visit this area or at least grow the plants."
"As usual with Clarke's books, the photographs are excellent."
The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands IndiesB. H. Danser2006EnglishNatural History Publications vi + 206reprint of the 1928 monograph; includes 15-page introduction by Charles Clarkesee article
A Field Guide to the Nepenthes of SumatraHernawati & Pitra Akhriadi2006EnglishPILI-NGO Movementxiv + 94field guide; result of research program funded by BP" a short book presenting basic information on thirty-one Sumatran taxa The quality of the paper, printing and images is perhaps a little low, but given the very meagre funds available to produce this book, this is understandable."
Nepenthes: Kantong Semar Yang UnikMuhammad Mansur2006IndonesianPenebar Swadayaiv + 100
Petunjuk Praktis Perawatan NepenthesFrankie Handoyo & Maloedyn Sitanggang2006IndonesianAgroMedia Pustakavi + 66cultivation guide
Trubus Info Kit: NepenthesOnny Untung 2006IndonesianPT Trubus Swadayaiv + 284strongly focused on cultivation; English e-book also available
Budi Daya Ex-Situ Nepenthes: Kantong Semar nan EksotisArie Wijayani Purwanto2007IndonesianKanisius60cultivation guide
Sukses Bertanam Kantong SemarS. Wulandari2007IndonesianSinar Cemerlang Abadivi + 58cultivation guide
Entuyut asal Kalimantan BaratAgustina Listiawati & Chairani Siregar2008IndonesianUntan Press88government publication
Pitcher Plants of Borneo, Second EditionAnthea Phillipps, Anthony Lamb & Ch'ien Lee2008EnglishNatural History Publications viii + 298much expanded second edition; strongly focused on botanical and horticultural history; includes many photographs by Ch'ien Leesee article
ร้อยพรรณพฤกษา ไม้กินแมลง หม้อข้าวหม้อแกงลิงSuwarun Suphawut2009Thaiเศรษฐศิลป์112strongly focused on cultivation and horticultural hybrids
Pitcher Plants of the Old World Stewart McPherson2009EnglishRedfern Natural History Productionsxvi + 1399also covers Cephalotus follicularis; 1 new species describedsee article
The Malaysian Nepenthes: Evolutionary and Taxonomic PerspectivesChris Thorogood2010EnglishNova Science Publishersvi + 158part of the Botanical Research and Practices Series
Nepenthes della Thailandia: Diario di viaggioMarcello Catalano2010Italianself-published207travel diary; 4 new species described"In a narrative style that only Italians master, the author describes his remarkable experience from roughly a decade of training and research both at herbaria and in the field. The diversity of the genus in Thailand as featured in the present book is far greater than expressed by any previous author."
Field Guide to the Pitcher Plants of the PhilippinesStewart McPherson & Victor B. Amoroso2011EnglishRedfern Natural History Productions61field guide
Stewart McPherson2011EnglishRedfern Natural History Productionsxiv + 5957 new species described; includes accounts of new discoveries since 2009 publication of Pitcher Plants of the Old World
Field Guide to the Pitcher Plants of SulawesiStewart McPherson & Alastair Robinson2012EnglishRedfern Natural History Productions49field guide
Field Guide to the Pitcher Plants of BorneoStewart McPherson & Alastair Robinson2012EnglishRedfern Natural History Productions101field guide
Field Guide to the Pitcher Plants of Australia and New GuineaStewart McPherson & Alastair Robinson2012EnglishRedfern Natural History Productions59field guide
Field Guide to the Pitcher Plants of Peninsular Malaysia and IndochinaStewart McPherson & Alastair Robinson2012EnglishRedfern Natural History Productions59field guide
Field Guide to the Pitcher Plants of Sumatra and JavaStewart McPherson & Alastair Robinson2012EnglishRedfern Natural History Productions91field guide
Kantong Semar Mirabilis dan Teknik BudidayanyaTri Handayani, Yupi Isnaini & Yuzammi2012IndonesianPusat Konservasi Tumbuhan Kebun Raya Bogor - LIPIiii + 77part of the Pendayagunaan Tumbuhan Berpotensi series
Mengenal Kantong Semar AdrianiiTri Handayani, Hartutiningsih-M. Siregar, Melani Kurnia Rismawati & Hary Wawangningrum2012IndonesianPusat Konservasi Tumbuhan Kebun Raya Bogor - LIPIv + 54part of the Pendayagunaan Tumbuhan Berpotensi series

Monographs published as part of larger works

This list includes major monographs that were not released as standalone publications. In the case of journal articles and papers, the parent publication is indicated in brackets.
Only the primary prosaic language is listed for each publication, although many of the earlier monographs also include substantial portions of Latin text in the form of taxon descriptions. Some of the taxa formally described in these monographs are not considered taxonomically valid today.
NameAuthorYearLanguageFormatPagesAdditional informationReviews
"Over het geslacht Nepenthes"Pieter Willem Korthals1839Dutchpart of Verhandelingen over de Natuurlijke Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche overzeesche bezittingen44generally regarded as the first monograph on Nepenthes; 3 new species described
"Über die Gattung Nepenthes besonders in Rücksicht auf ihre physiologische Eigenthümlichkeit"Ernst Wunschmann1872Germandoctoral thesis ; published by Buchdruckerei von Gustav Schade 50sometimes considered the first monograph on Nepenthes
"Nepenthaceae"Joseph Dalton Hooker1873Latinpart of the seventeenth volume of Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis167 new species described; primarily focused on new discoveries from northern Borneo
"Die Gattung Nepenthes"Günther Beck von Mannagetta und Lerchenau1895Germanjournal article 46published in 4 parts; 4 new species described; 1 new species combination
"Nepenthaceae"John Muirhead Macfarlane1908Englishpart of Das Pflanzenreich918 new species described; includes detailed accounts of structure, anatomy, and developmentsee article
"The Nepenthaceae of the Netherlands Indies"B. H. Danser1928Englishjournal article 190widely considered the most important monograph on Nepenthes; 17 new species describedsee article
"Nepenthaceae"Hermann Harms1936Germanpart of Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien38similar to Danser's treatment
"Nepenthes di Sumatera: The genus Nepenthes of the Sumatra Island"Rusjdi Tamin & Mitsuru Hotta1986Indonesianpaper 353 new species described
"Pitcher-plants of East Malaysia and Brunei"Anthea Phillipps & Anthony Lamb1988Englishjournal article 20includes 80 colour photographs
"An account of Nepenthes in New Guinea"Matthew Jebb1991Englishjournal article 48includes a survey of pitcher prey assemblagessee article
"A skeletal revision of Nepenthes "Matthew Jebb & Martin Cheek1997Englishjournal article 1066 new species described; 1 new species combinationsee article
"Nepenthaceae"Martin Cheek & Matthew Jebb2001Englishfifteenth volume of Flora Malesianaiv + 157only covers species native to Malesiasee article

Children's literature

NameAuthorYearLanguagePublisherPagesAdditional informationReviews
Jack & the Carnivorous Pitcher PlantTan Wee Kiat & Amy Sabrielo1999EnglishLandmark Books83illustrated by Lesley Gan; dust jacket folds out into a Nepenthes-themed board game
Singapore Heritage: the Raffles Pitcher PlantTan Wee Kiat2003EnglishSingapore Philatelic Museum16covers stamps, currency and phone cards featuring Nepenthes; single-page foreword and appendix not included in page count