PlantFiles: Ant Plant
Myrmecodia tuberosa

For most of you who have never seen the Ant Plant in its habitat, I would like to give some information here.

Actually, Myrmecodia tuberosa is a true epiphyte. In habitat, I found its roots just wrap around the branch, but naturally,
if there are any holes or cracks from rotten bark, the roots certainly will go in.

Someone asked me if all Myrmecodias grow sideways off a trunk or branch. In fact, I found Myrmecodia grow in all direction, even hanging out off the branch with just held on by their roots. But I've to say that most plants prefer the side way. The reason, I think, because of the gravity. This not only their weight, but also while the seed dispersor :ants or birds, drop the Myrmecodia's seed on to the branch or tree trunk. Naturally, the rain will rinse most of seed down, so what remains should be more on the side or beneath of the branch than the upright position, before the lucky seed germination.

Here in the southern part of Thailand where I found Myrmecodia in native, our jungle below the Isthmus of Kra, the climate is of tropical evergreen forest, this means there is rain throughout of the year, but a bit less rain between February to April. And we found the plant flowering and getting fruit all year round.

The Myrmecodia which I found at southern most part of Thailand seem to prefer growing on more exposed tree, especilly hight up (10-15 metres) on tree trunk.

Although Myrmecodia seem to be a caudiciform or a succulent, but they are not at all a xerophytic plant. Some plants that I grow in sphagnum media will turn drooping if I didn't water only a few days! While Hydnophytum formicarum, another ant plant in Rubiaceae family found here, can survive a month without watering. That why we can find Hydnophytum throughout Thailand and Indochina.