Draft:Hydnophytum ferrugineum

Hydnophytum ferrugineum is a species of ant plant that lives in Cape York Peninsular, Queensland, Australia.[1]

Habitat

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Hydnophytum ferrugineum is an epiphyte that lives primarily in tropical locations.[2] As an epiphyte, it grows on other plants but is not parasitic on its host plant.

Mutualism

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Like other species in Hydnophytum, it forms a mutualistic relationship with ants.[3] Hydnophytum ferrugineum produces a large complex tuber known as a caudex that contains many openings and tunnels throughout. This provides a habitat for ants above the ground and allows them to live in an area they might otherwise not be able to survive in. The ants that make their home inside the caudex scavenge food from a wide area and produce waste inside the caudex that then fertilizes the plant. This allows Hydnophytum ferrugineum to draw resources from a much larger area than would be possible with a root system.




References

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  1. ^ "CAUDICIFORM Hydnophytum ferrugineum". bihrmann.com. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  2. ^ "Hydnophytum ferrugineum P.I.Forst. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  3. ^ Huxley, Camilla R. (January 1978). "THE ANT-PLANTS MYRMECODIA AND HYDNOPHYTUM (RUBIACEAE), AND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THEIR MORPHOLOGY, ANT OCCUPANTS, PHYSIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY". New Phytologist. 80 (1): 231–268. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.1978.tb02285.x. ISSN 0028-646X.