1997 monograph, "A skeletal revision of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae)", Matthew Jebb and Martin Cheek included N. beccariana as a synonym of N. mirabilis, having not examined the type specimen either. The authors retained this synonymy in their 2001 monograph, "Nepenthaceae". In 2000, Jan Schlauer and C. Nepi examined the type specimen of N. beccariana and noted significant differences between it and N. mirabilis, suggesting that it should be restored as a distinct species. In Nepenthes of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, Charles Clarke agreed that N. beccariana appears to be distinct from both N. mirabilis and N. sumatrana, but noted that if N. beccariana is found to be conspecific with N. longifolia, the latter taxon would become a heterotypic synonym of the former. Description The stem of N. beccariana is glabrous and 10 to 12 mm wide. Leaves are subcoriaceous and petiolate. The lamina or leaf blade is elliptic-lanceolate to obovate in shape. It is up to 40 cm long by 9 cm wide. The petiole is 7 to 10 cm long and winged. It is semi-amplexicaul, with the lower wings being slightly expanded. Tendrils are 25 to 35 cm long. Rosette and lower pitchers are up to 18 cm long by 5 cm wide. The peristome is up to 15 mm wide. The pitcher lid or operculum is ovate-cordate and up to 7 cm long by 5 cm wide. A filiform, club-shaped spur up to 15 mm long is inserted near the base of the lid. The cylindrical upper pitchers are larger than their lower counterparts, growing to 30 cm high by 6 cm wide. Flowers and fruits are unknown. No forms or varieties of N. beccariana have been described. Ecology Nepenthes beccariana is known with certainty only from the type locality on the island of Nias, where the type specimen was collected. This population has not been knowingly observed since its discovery by Modigliani and no photographs of it are known to exist. Plants that resemble N. beccariana and may be conspecific with it grow along the road from Sibolga to Tarutung in North Sumatra. This unidentified taxon is sympatric with N. ampullaria, N. gracilis, N. rafflesiana, N. reinwardtiana, and N. tobaica. A putative natural hybrid with N. sumatrana has been recorded. The conservation status of N. beccariana has not been formally assessed and it is not listed on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Related species Nepenthes