About Nepenthes distillatoria L.
Nepenthes distillatoria L. gets its scientific name from Neo-Latin, derived from the Latin word destillo meaning "to distill", combined with the adjectival suffix -oria. The name translates to "something from which a liquid is distilled", a reference to its pitcher trap. This is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sri Lanka. It was the second Nepenthes species ever described in print, and the first to be formally named under the Linnaean taxonomic system. Because of this, it is the type species of the genus Nepenthes. Nepenthes distillatoria is the only Nepenthes species that has been recorded from the island of Sri Lanka. It grows in waterlogged open scrub, along road embankments and other cleared areas, and within forest. It can be found at altitudes ranging from sea level up to 700 m. Due to its geographic isolation from other Nepenthes species, N. distillatoria has no known natural hybrids.
