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Hydnophytum ferrugineum is a epiphyte species of myrmecophytes native to the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. It forms a mutualistic relationship with ants on tree branches in the tropics. It is distinctive due to the presence of rust-colored hairs covering the bracts near the inflorescences. H. ferrugineum was first described by Paul Irwin Forster in 2001, given its specific epithet ferrugineum due to the rust-colored hairs located on the bracts.
H.ferrugineum is an epiphyte that lives primarily in moist tropical locations with moderate sun. As an epiphyte, it grows on other plants but is not parasitic. Although this species faces little threat, human collecting of ant plants can damage local populations. Collecting is common due to rare Orchidaceae species endemic to the region, leading many people to take samples of H. ferrugineum as well as other ant plants.
Ant Plant · Smooth Ant Plant · Hydnophytum radicans · Ant plant
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hydnophytum ferrugineum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
