Myrmecodia beccarii

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Myrmecodia beccarii
Myrmecodia beccarii with Dischidia nummularia.jpg
Myrmecodia beccarii with Dischidia nummularia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Myrmecodia
Species:
M. beccarii
Binomial name
Myrmecodia beccarii
Hook f.

Myrmecodia beccarii, ant-house plant, is an epiphytic plant on Melaleuca trees and others with spongy bark in the wetlands and mangroves of tropical north Queensland, Australia from Cooktown to Mission Beach. The prickly, swollen stems develop natural hollows which are invaded by the golden ant ( Philidris cordatus ) in a symbiotic arrangement. The ants patrol the plant, removing leaf-eaters, while their excreta is absorbed by the plant for nutrition. [1]

The flowers are white and tubular, to 10 mm, and the fruit is white/translucent containing a single seed. These seeds are transported to other trees by the mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum). [2]

The Apollo jewel butterfly (Hypochrysops apollo apollo) lays its eggs on the plant, and because they smell like ant's eggs, the ants carry the eggs inside the plant, where they develop to the butterfly stage. Hypochrysops is a genus of "blues", butterflies in the family Lycaenidae, which is notorious for its myrmecophily. Accordingly, it is likely that the larvae that hatch from the eggs feed either on food begged from the ants, or on ant larvae, or possibly both. In either event, the butterfly finally emerges and flies off. This plant has been declared by Australia as a vulnerable species due to invasive species and illegal collecting [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Myrmecodia</i> Genus of epiphytes

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.

<i>Melaleuca quinquenervia</i> Species of tree

Melaleuca quinquenervia, commonly known as the broad-leaved paperbark, paper bark tea tree, punk tree or niaouli, is a small- to medium-sized tree of the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It grows as a spreading tree up to 20 m (70 ft) tall, with its trunk covered by a white, beige and grey thick papery bark. The grey-green leaves are egg-shaped, and cream or white bottlebrush-like flowers appear from late spring to autumn. It was first formally described in 1797 by the Spanish naturalist Antonio José Cavanilles.

<i>Hypochrysops</i> Butterfly genus in family Lycaenidae

Hypochrysops is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae first described by Cajetan Felder and Rudolf Felder in 1860. This particular genus is exclusive to the Australian area with only a few species straying into Papua New Guinea.

<i>Semecarpus australiensis</i> Species of tree in the family Anacardiaceae

Semecarpus australiensis, commonly known as the tar tree, native cashew, marking nut, or cedar plum, is a species of tree in the cashew, sumac and mango family Anacardiaceae, native to parts of Melanesia and northern Australia. Contact with the plant can cause serious allergic reactions, a common characteristic of this family.

<i>Melaleuca viridiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca viridiflora, commonly known as broad-leaved paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is native to woodlands, swamps and streams in monsoonal areas of northern Australia and New Guinea. It is usually a small tree with an open canopy, papery bark and spikes of cream, yellow, green or red flowers.

<i>Glochidion ferdinandi</i> Species of tree

Glochidion ferdinandi, with common names that include cheese tree, is a species of small to medium–sized trees, constituting part of the plant family Phyllanthaceae. They grow naturally across eastern Australia, from south–eastern New South Wales northwards to northern and inland Queensland, in rainforests and humid eucalypt forests. Frugivorous birds such as pigeons, figbirds and parrots consume its fruit. The tree roots and branches are toxic to dogs, causing liver failure and death.

<i>Zanthoxylum brachyacanthum</i> Species of tree

Zanthoxylum brachyacanthum, known as thorny yellow-wood, satinwood, satin tree or scrub mulga, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to north-eastern Australia. It is a rainforest shrub or tree with thick, cone-shaped spines on the trunk and prickles on the branches, pinnate leaves, and male and female flowers arranged in panicles.

<i>Dendrophthoe vitellina</i> Species of mistletoe

Dendrophthoe vitellina, commonly known as long-flowered- or apostle mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic plant of the mistletoe family Loranthaceae. The genus Dendrophthoe comprises about 31 species spread across tropical Africa, Asia, and Australia. Despite being collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander in 1788, and depicted in Banks' Florilegium, it was not until 1860 that it was described by Ferdinand von Mueller as Loranthus vitellinus after being collected near Ipswich, and renamed by Philippe Édouard Léon Van Tieghem in 1895.

<i>Oxera splendida</i> Species of vine in the family Lamiaceae

Oxera splendida is an evergreen vine in the family Lamiaceae which produces white, fragrant flowers and white, egg-shaped fruit. It naturally is occurs in the tropical rain forests of tropical Asia and Australia and is often sighted along rain forest margins such as roads. Some common names include October glory, glory vine, potato vine and fragrant faradaya. Australian indigenous names include Garanggal used from Cairns to Yarrabah, Buku used in the Tully River area, Koie-yan used at Dunk Island and Djungeen used by the Girramay clan.

<i>Meiogyne cylindrocarpa</i> Species of plant in the family Annonaceae

Meiogyne cylindrocarpa, commonly known as fingersop or native apricot in Australia, is a small tree or shrub in the custard apple family Annonaceae, native to parts of tropical Asia and Australasia.

<i>Melaleuca dealbata</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca dealbata, commonly known as karnbor or blue paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to tropical areas in northern Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia. It is a medium to large leafy tree, growing in wet areas such as on the edges of coastal lagoons. It has papery bark, relatively large, blue-green leaves and spikes of cream-coloured flowers over a long period.

<i>Melaleuca nervosa</i> Species of shrub

Melaleuca nervosa, commonly known as fibrebark, is a shrub or tree in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to northern Australia. It is a narrow-leaved, tropical paperbark with yellow-green and red-flowering forms. As with some other melaleucas, this species has many uses to Indigenous Australians.

<i>Melaleuca arcana</i> Species of shrub

Melaleuca arcana is a small tree or large shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Cape York Peninsula in northern Australia. It has papery bark and small heads of white flowers in summer.

<i>Melaleuca irbyana</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca irbyana, commonly known as weeping paperbark, bushhouse paperbark and swamp paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is a shrub or small tree, often growing in pure stands in poorly drained areas. Its distribution is limited and it has been classified as an endangered species under legislation in both states and the forest as critically endangered under Australian government legislation.

<i>Melaleuca tamariscina</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca tamariscina, commonly known as bush-house paperbark or tamarix honey-myrtle is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to central Queensland in Australia. It grows to the height of a small tree with small, scale-like leaves that are pressed against the branches, and has a papery bark and a weeping habit.

<i>Hakea persiehana</i> Species of plant in the family Proteaceae endemic to Queensland

Hakea persiehana is a shrub or small tree in the genus Hakea, which comprises approximately 150 species restricted to Australia. Most Hakea seed are usually dispersed by an environmental trigger rather than when seed matures, quite often by fire, whilst other species may require sporadic flooding rains to establish. Hakea is within the family Proteaceae

Medicosma obovata is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of far north Queensland. It has simple egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base and white flowers borne singly or in small groups in leaf axils.

<i>Melicope rubra</i> Species of plant in the family Rutaceae

Melicope rubra, commonly known as the little evodia, is a species of small tree in the citrus family Rutaceae, native to New Guinea and northeast Queensland. It was originally described as Euodia rubra in 1900. It has trifoliate leaves and pink bisexual flowers arranged on branches below the leaves.

<i>Syzygium puberulum</i> Species of plant

Syzygium puberulum, commonly known as white satinash or downy satinash, is a plant in the family Myrtaceae which is native to rainforests of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, and Papua New Guinea. It was first described in 1942.

<i>Hypochrysops piceatus</i> Species of butterfly

Hypochrysops piceatus, commonly referred to as the bulloak jewel, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae endemic to Australia. It was first described in 1969 by John Kerr, Jack Macqueen, and Don Sands. It is restricted to two present localities under 10 km2 in area in Southeastern Queensland, with another locality's population extirpated due to land clearing. As a result, it has been described as "Australia's rarest butterfly", with an estimated 37% chance of extinction by 2040.

References

  1. Skull, S., Plants of the Melaleuca Woodlands, 1995, James Cook University ISBN   0-86443-531-2
  2. Cooper, W., Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest, 2004, Nokomis Editions Pty Ltd ISBN   0-9581742-1-0
  3. https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/11852-conservation-advice.pdf#:~:text=Myrmecodia%20beccarii%20is%20listed%20as%20vulnerable.%20This%20species,of%20the%20Endangered%20Species%20Protection%20Act%201992%20%28Cwlth%29.
  4. Williams, K.A.W., Native Plants of Queensland (Vol.1), 1979 ISBN   0-9595570-0-8