Shigeo Kurata (倉田 重夫, Kurata Shigeo) is a Japanese botanist and Nepenthes taxonomist whose work in the 1960s and 1970s contributed much to the current popularity of these plants.[1][2] His best-known work is the 1976 guide Nepenthes of Mount Kinabalu.[3] Nepenthes kurata was named in his honour.[2]
Kurata has described a number of new Nepenthes species, including N. campanulata,[4] N. eymae,[5] N. mindanaoensis,[6] N. peltata,[7] N. rhombicaulis,[4] and N. saranganiensis.[8] He also described N. pyriformis,[6] which was subsequently recognised as a natural hybrid by Charles Clarke.[9] Other natural hybrids named by Kurata include N. × ferrugineomarginata, N. × kinabaluensis, and N. × kuchingensis.