Hydnophytum formicarum

Hydnophytum formicarum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Hydnophytum
Species:
H. formicarum
Binomial name
Hydnophytum formicarum

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.[1] It is a myrmecophyte as ants live in its tuber, also known as a caudex, and pollinate its flowers.[1] It resides in open-canopied areas, rainforests, and terrestrial regions of high elevation.[2][3]

  1. ^ a b "Hydnophytum formicarum Jack". Flora Fauna Web. National Parks Board, Singapore. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  2. ^ Hosoishi, Shingo; Park, Sang-Hyun; Tagane, Shuichiro; Rahman, Md. Mamunur; Ogata, Kazuo (July 2018). "Domatia of the Ant-Plant Hydnophytum formicarum (Rubiaceae) Captured as Nests by Two Widespread Ant Species, Tapinoma melanocephalum and Tetramorium nipponense (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Entomological News. 127 (5): 407–412. doi:10.3157/021.127.0503. ISSN 0013-872X. S2CID 92743135.
  3. ^ Arcila Hernández, Lina M.; Sanders, Jon G.; Miller, Gabriel A.; Ravenscraft, Alison; Frederickson, Megan E. (December 2017). "Ant-plant mutualism: a dietary by-product of a tropical ant's macronutrient requirements". Ecology. 98 (12): 3141–3151. Bibcode:2017Ecol...98.3141A. doi:10.1002/ecy.2036. hdl:10150/636383. PMID 28977692.