Question

Base and leaves  

Leaves   Hi Jacob and Jeff

I have noticed some small white grains(?) at the base of some of my nepenthes as well as what appear to be white grains on the leaves as well. There are many grains on the leaves .. up and down the entire leaf. A picture is worth a thousand words so I have attached one. Sorry about the quality .. but it was the best I could do and get the base and leaves included

I lost all my neps about a year and a half ago to an insect problem (and other factors) and if this is something I need to deal with I would like to know earlier rather than later.

This is being grown in a terrarium (Yes I know .. I don't need one) under lights, in a mixture of New Zealand sphagnum and orchid mix.

Nicole

Answer
At first I thought they might be scales, but the appearance isn't at all consistent with those critters.  Based on your photo, my best educated guess is that it's residue from long-fiber sphagnum moss.  Did you recently repot them or work with sphagnum moss recently.  The wet debris will sometimes land on leaves.  When it dries, it would look like scales.  I've seen this happen to my own plants.  I'd freak out, but when I inspect closer, I realized they were just dried debris.  

Take a wet cloth and gently rub them off.  If they come off readily, they're just debris. If they don't come off readily and feel as if they are attached to the leaf, write back.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin