Hydnophytum is a genus of epiphyticmyrmecophytes (ant plants) native to Southeast Asia, the Pacific region and also extending into Queensland in northern Australia. The name is derived from the Ancient Greekhydnon "tuber", and phyton "plant", after their appearance with their swollen succulent stems. The species grow in tree branches and on trunks. Like the related genus Myrmecodia, they are known as antplants or ant-house plants.[1] The type species is Hydnophytum formicarum from the Philippines. The genus contains 55 species, of which 44 are found in and around the island of New Guinea. Many are poorly known, with 11 known only from the holotype.[2]
They form a symbiotic relationship with ants. Ant plants provide habitats for ant colonies high up into the forest canopy, protecting them from the elements and also predators because of the spines. Hollow, smooth-walled tunnels form within the caudex with external entrance holes, providing an above-ground home for ant colonies. Ants likewise provide defense for the plant and prevent tissue damage, swarming to defend their home if disturbed.[1] Ant colonies also provide nutrients to the plants by leaving wastes within the tunnels inside the caudex. Special glands lining the tunnels then absorb nutriment for the plant. This symbiosis allows the plants to effectively gather nutrients (via the ants) from a much larger area than the roots ever could cover.
These plants can be grown in cultivation without the ant species being present.[1] Two species seen occasionally in cultivation are Hydnophytum ferrugineum from the McIlwraith Ranges east of Coen on the Cape York Peninsula, and H. moseleyanum, also from Cape York. The former has a spiny swollen trunk while the latter has a smooth one.[3]
Gardenia is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Madagascar, Pacific Islands, and Australia.
Schradera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Martin Vahl in 1797. The genus has a wide distribution area and is found from tropical America to the Malay Archipelago. It is the only genus in the tribe Schradereae.
Matthew Hilary Peter Jebb is an Irish botanist and taxonomist specialising in the ant plant genera Squamellaria, Myrmecodia, Hydnophytum, Myrmephytum and Anthorrhiza, as well as the carnivorous plant genus Nepenthes.
Myrmecodia is a genus of epiphytic myrmecophytes, native to Southeast Asia and present in Indochina, Malaysia, the Southwest Pacific, the Philippines, and extending south to Fiji and Cape York in Queensland, Australia. It is one of five ant-plant genera in the family Rubiaceae, the others being Anthorrhiza, Hydnophytum, Myrmephytum, and Squamellaria.
Canthium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. They are shrubs and small trees. The leaves are deciduous and the stems are usually thorny.
Saprosma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. There are about 40 species distributed from south China to tropical Asia.
Urophyllum is a genus of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae, native to from south China to Tropical Asia. The genus was established by Nathaniel Wallich in 1824.
Hedyotis (starviolet) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. Many species of this genus such as Hedyotis biflora, H. corymbosa and H. diffusa are well known medicinal plants. Hedyotis is native to tropical and subtropical Asia and to islands of the northwest Pacific. It comprises about 115 species. The type species for the genus is Hedyotis fruticosa.
Neonauclea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It comprises about 71 species. Neonauclea is a genus of shrubs and trees They are indigenous to China, India, Southeast Asia, Wallacea, New Guinea and Australia.
Amaracarpus is a genus of shrubs, treelets or trees in the family Rubiaceae. It was described by Carl Ludwig Blume in 1826. Most of the species are endemic to New Guinea but a few have wider ranges in Southeast Asia from Myanmar (Burma) and the Andaman Islands across Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Melanesia, Christmas Island, Queensland and Vanuatu. One species also occurs in the Seychelles. Several species were published years ago but are today not represented by any type specimens or other known existing material.
Anthorrhiza is a genus of myrmecophytic flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea, including the Louisiade Archipelago. It is one of five ant-plant genera in the family Rubiaceae, the others being Hydnophytum, Myrmecodia, Myrmephytum, and Squamellaria.
Mussaenda is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. They are native to the African and Asian tropics and subtropics. Several species are cultivated as ornamental plants.
Myrmephytum is a genus of myrmecophytic flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is distributed from central Malesia to New Guinea.
Squamellaria is a genus of myrmecophytic flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It includes eight species native to the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji.
Coptosapelta is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in tropical and subtropical Asia. The genus has not been placed within a subfamily and is sister to the rest of Rubiaceae.
Dolianthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is endemic to New Guinea.
Dolicholobium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is found from central Malesia to the southwestern Pacific.
Psychotrieae is a tribe of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae and contains about 2114 species in 17 genera. Its representatives are found in the tropics and subtropics. Several genera are Myrmecophytes
Philidris cordata is a species of ant in the genus Philidris. Described by Smith in 1859, the species is endemic to Indonesia and New Guinea. This species is a frequent inhabitant of the ant plant genera: Myrmecodia and Hydnophytum.
Hydnophytum formicarum, commonly called a "Baboon's head" or "Ant plant", is an epiphyte native to Southeast Asia and is considered critically endangered in Singapore. It is a myrmecophyte as ants live in its tuber, also known as a caudex, and pollinate its flowers. It resides in open-canopied areas, rainforests, and terrestrial regions of high elevation.
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