Nepenthes veitchii is a species of pitcher plant from the island of Borneo, where it is still quite common in its native rainforests. The pitchers can grow up to 10in (25cm) long with brightly colored mouths that attract many kinds of insects.
N. veitchii is notable for being a true epiphyte. Unlike other species of Nepenthes, which usually maintain roots in the soil, N. veitchii grows high up in trees where it wraps its leaves around branches and shares its habitat with orchids and epiphytic ferns. This is an interesting contrast to Nepenthes ampullaria, which creeps along the forest floor and forms large mats of pitchers.
This watercolor was painted by the Belgian horticulturist Louis van Houtte and published in the journal Flore des Serres et des Jardins de l'Europe (Flowers of the Greenhouses and Gardens of Europe). Van Houtte misidentified the specimen as Nepenthes villosa, which has similar pitchers but a squat, bush-like growth habit.
