photo taken 10 / 04

N. x briggsiana var. Peter D'Amato with a much narrower waist line than the Exotica clone for the same sized plant

This plant is a hybrid between two highland plants: Nepenthes lowii and Nepenthes ventricosa. I've been searching for this hybrid for some time since I first saw a similar hybrid in Peter D'Amato's book The Savage Garden.  Peter's plant is referred to as N. "briggsiana var. Peter D'Amato" and is gorgeous. His has leaves like a N. ventricosa but with the hourglass pitcher of  N. lowii and is also quite red. It is pictured on the back cover of his book. The smaller plant from Exotica is still producing small lower pitchers and growing steadily. However, I was able to get a larger rooted cutting from Exotica Plants that is in the upper pitcher stage. Sometimes Exotica Plants releases larger plants later on after they've dropped off the initial offerings list. They are bigger, nicer, and definitely more expensive! My larger clone isn't as dark red as the N. X briggsiana but is still a beauty nonetheless. I suspect that these hybrids will retain their value for some time. Of the many hybrids I grow, this hybrid is one of my favorites.

Cultivation: easy, moderate grower
Market availability: size 3 to larger plants; limited but fairly available now
Species variability: none I'm aware of, some differences will occur in the different seed grown hybrids
$ / size: moderate to collector's plant  $45.00 to $100.00 + for larger plants
Cuttings: none available for trade
Sex: unknown