Nepenthes inermis produces two kinds of pitchers. Lowers and uppers. The uppers are fantastic! They are infundibular, like a trumpet shape. The lid is almost non-existent. It appears to be similar to N. dubia which has just recently become available. This species does well outdoors and shows more rapid growth than most other highlanders. Unfortunately, this species seems to be limited in cultivation so the plants are small. Hopefully in a few years, cuttings will be available so you can get those great upper pitchers quicker. I grow two plants. One came from the Nepenthes Nursery , and the other I bought from Cook's Carnivorous plants that originated from Borneo Exotics. Both plants look similar and I don't see any differences between the two clones. What I have noticed is that N. inermis grows fairly quickly and reaches the vining stage much earlier than other highlanders. It also doesn't seem to produce any basal shoots. Both plants have flowered for me at an early age. The flowering seemed to take a lot of energy out of the plant for some reason. I actually lost one plant after flowering. It turned black and died. That was the only Nepenthes I ever lost in the vining stage. Because of the uniqueness of the pitchers, N. inermis is another "must" for the collection.

Cultivation: easy; quick to moderate grower for a highlander
Market availability: size 2 to size 3; somewhat limited
Species variability: none that I'm aware of other than locality differences
$ / size: moderate to expensive; $35.00 and up for larger plants
Cuttings: none available for trade
Sex: female