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The rest is my
own photos, and I have this bad feeling of: They are actually
H. moseleyanum.
Ant entrance.
A large plant from
Copenhagen Botanical Garden.
Plant in a
German BG.
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This member of the RUBIACEAE
family was described by William Jack in 1823. It's found in the jungles in Thailand and
Malaysia. It's a epiphyte, and needs a lots of moist, but not much sun.
It can be reproduced both by cuttings and seeds. The caudex will get op
to 30 centimetres, the branches 40 centimetres. I got mine in Botanical
Garden, Copenhagen in 2003.
The caudex is hollow, and forms a perfect nest for the ants, which
protect the plant, and gets home and sweet sap in exchange.
It get a lots of white small flowers, and small red fruits.
H.
formicarum, have 6-12 pairs of veins in their leathery
leaves, brownish and rough
caudex with ridges, ant entrances only along the soil line, flowers
3-4 millimetres.
Often confused with
H. moseleyanum
which have 3-4 pairs of veins in their slightly succulent, silverish
and smooth caudex without ridges, ant entrances spread all over the
lover half of the caudex, flowers 4-5 millimetres.
Sub-family: Rubioideae.
Tibe:Psychotrieae. Sub-tribe: Hydnophytinae.
In my experience, the seeds should be
sown within a week after opening the fresh fruit.
It needs righter high humidity.
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