Myrmecodia tuberosa, the ant plant, is an epiphytic plant.[1] The species has a symbiotic relationship with some ant species where ants use the hollow body of the plant as shelter, defend the plant from other insects, and provide nutrients to the plant through their waste.[2]
| Myrmecodia tuberosa | |
|---|---|
| |
| Myrmecodia tuberosa at the Huntington Museum of Art | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Genus: | Myrmecodia |
| Species: | M. tuberosa
|
| Binomial name | |
| Myrmecodia tuberosa Jack
| |
Gallery
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Myrmecodia tuberosa seedling -
Myrmecodia tuberosa young plant
References
edit- ^ Janzen, Daniel H. (1974). "Epiphytic Myrmecophytes in Sarawak: Mutualism Through the Feeding of Plants by Ants". Biotropica. 6 (4): 237–259. Bibcode:1974Biotr...6..237J. doi:10.2307/2989668. JSTOR 2989668 – via JSTOR.
- ^ "Myrmecodia tuberosa". National Tropical Botanical Gardens. Retrieved 2022-09-21.