Philpatrick

Found some pictures of this possible new genus here.

It's interesting how the flowers spiral up the stems.

I mainly shared the link because the images are good. 

I think these are the most detailed images here.

Your welcome. I repotted it with the original growth at one edge of the tray cell so the new growth has room to root into. I was not sure if it was a lecanopteris at first. There were three or four fronds produced before the hollow rhizome formed. I took a picture of light through the opening.

 Higher magnification image of an entrance forming.

Lecanopteris mirabilis.

Hello everyone. I started these Lecanopteris from spores. I really enjoy watching these grow. If I remember correctly, and by appearance, they are L. deparioides. Recently I noticed the formation of what appear to be entrance holes along the sides of the rhizomes. I though this was interesting so I thought I would share some images.

This is a before and after set of the same fern. The upper photo shows the rhizome before entrance formation. The lower photo shows the growth progression of what appears to be entrances. So far the entrances start out yellow-green then develope a purple or dark purple color around them.

More images of the entrances. Progressively magnified. There is a new entrance forming (yellow), ahead of the dark purple entrance.

This next image is of another fern forming entrances. 

I just think these ferns are amazing. 

I am hoping to get more detailed images of the entrances to post.

Nice shots! 

It helps to have all chapters as one link. When looking up information on ant plants, referencing your book first helps a lot and saves time. I might have put some redundant or duplicate information and links above. When I searched the database the first time, not much information was on Hoya imbricata. After I posted what I found, I rechecked your database and this time information on H. imbricata was there. I am not sure why I did not see the information the first time I checked.

That is as much as I could find for the day. I hope my humor came across well for headache relief. It can be a headache. The E book database will clear up a lot of confusion. 

Perhaps determine which, of the names above, are synonymous with H. imbricata and which ones are considered seperate species? 

They are synonymous according to  BLUMEA 46 (2001) 457-483, which also states Hoya shallertiae is synonymous:

"We do not think that the variation in above-mentioned vegetative traits justifies the separation of these growth forms into separate taxa. We have therefore placed H. maxima (H. Karst.) Warb., H. pseudomaxima Koord. and H. imbricata Decne. forma basi-subcordata Koord. in synonymy with H. imbricata Decne. We suspect that H. shallertiae Burton was described from a herbarium sheet containing flowers of H. imbricata and branches of Dischidia imbricata. If so, this species would also be placed in synonymy with H. imbricata."

In some places they are listed as seperate species.

Tropicos, Kew, IPNI:

Hoya imbricata:  Tropicos, Kew, IPNI.

Hoya imbricata var. basi-subcordata: N/A

Hoya maxima: Tropicos, Kew, IPNI.

Hoya psuedomaxima: Tropicos, Kew ( considered a synonym of Hoya imbricata subsp. imbricata), IPNI.

Hoya shallertiae: Tropicos N/A, Kew, IPNI N/A.

Dale Kloppenburg has contributed a lot of information on Hoyas. Some relief here:

Kloppenburg BHL.

https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2018/02/bhl-gains-works-on-diverse-plant-genus.html

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/search?searchTerm=Kloppenburg&stype=F#/titles

Section Peltostemma (Hoya imbricata and Hoya maxima), page 11. 

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/228164#page/17/mode/1up

Accurate data no matter how old, and direct observations help. Where do you draw the line though, or should you? Is there even a line?

There is a lot of information but how do you structure it before a migraine sets in?

To add to the confusion. The names Hoya imbricata/maxima, Hoya cf. imbricata and Hoya imbricata var. basirotunda. Have also been used. 

Also, the first picture following page 267 shows the typical form, and the flower does not look like it belongs to Hoya imbricata!

I think it boils down to asprin, acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

I looked again and found Hoya maxima from Celebes. There is not much information about it. It is in German. Sulawesi is also known as Celebes.

The Philippine journal of science.

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/1125#page/2/mode/1up

Page 265:

"Hoya maxima aus Nord-Ost-Celebes" (Hoya maxima from north-east-Celebes).

If I am translating it all correctly, the upper side of Hoya pseudomaxima is completely smooth without cuticular stools or fluffy hair.

Also, here is some information:

The World of Hoyas - A Pictorial Guide by Dale Kloppenburg   

http://dalekloppenburg.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-world-of-hoyas-pictoral-guide-book.html?m=1

https://issuu.com/jeanclode/docs/hoyafoliage_guida

This has some information describing the differences (not entirely in English) and includes drawings. It shows different forms. I am assuming it only describes plants found in the Philippines. Hoya maxima is not listed. Could this be because it is mainly on Sulawesi?

Year: 1919 (102 years ago).

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/1125#page/2/mode/1up

You can browser search directly in the pages or download the 600+ page file and search it that way.

There is recent information on their differences. In the past I have grown some of these but I did not explore their differences. I wish I had investigated them more, especially beyond the naked eye.

Information on Hoya maxima (Sulawesi) as a synonym of Hoya imbricata:

BLUMEA 46 (2001) 457-483

Hoya maxima herbarium:

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:98555-1

Also, translating the latin names suggests the basic differences.

There is much more genetic variation than is documented of course, that is life. 

More nectar images. The ants feed on the ferns nectar, and I can see their abdomen expand as they gorge themselves. Many Ant species have two stomachs a private stomach and a social stomach. 

Here's some information on DOIs:

https://library.uic.edu/help/article/1966/what-is-a-doi-and-how-do-i-use-them-in-citations

This works as a direct link without entering it in the search box on the doi site. Not sure why the original link isn't working like this when they seem the same. The original link could be tweaked to work directly. It still works but in a two part method by copying the doi and pasting it in the search box .

Here's the same link, somehow I got it to work directly:

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90306-4_10-1

This should work:

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-90306-4_10-1

The link Derrick posted actually works. In fact it works better than the link I put above because it will remain searchable as everything changes in time. The link I posted above may not work eventually, and the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) name search will allow the information to be shared by preventing a missing link. I think It is a good way to share information. You have to go to the DOI website and enter the DOI name into the search/submit box.

First go to:

https://doi.org/

Then enter (copy and paste) this DOI name in the search box:

I thought thekii was a patronym (male, last name Thek = thek-ii). Though I found this in a book:

“thekii From the Fijian name ‘theke theke nkau’ for tuber-forming ant-plants, literally meaning ‘testicles of trees’. (Squamellaria)” (Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton p.239).

Trying to "piece" the name together. This suggests thekii is derived from a Fijian word for a particular body part and not the last name of a person who is male. Very interesting!

What is the meaning of the word theke?

I found the Fijian word "ceke" = enlarged family jewels, which is a very close match. An online translator showed ni kau = of wood, and vu ni kau = stem of wood. In a Fijian-English dictionary, I looked up the word kau, I believe this means tree or wood. Couldn't find nkau, but I did find vu ni kau.

"vunikau n. plant, shrub, tree." (Gatty, Ronald p.311).

I was reading in this useful Fijian-English dictionary: "The letter c is pronounced as a soft th, as in this..." (Gatty, Ronald p.37).

So does this mean ceke is pronounced "theke", because "c" is pronounced "th"? 

I have not found any Fijian words that are written with a "th" as in "theke", in fact I don't think the letter "h" is written in the Fijian language. I did find that  F, H and P are used in Fijian from foreign loan words ( words adopted from another language). https://omniglot.com/writing/fijian.htm

 So "theke" could be the written audible form of the Fijian written word "ceke". I am not sure yet if "theke" is adopted.

I read it. I found blob and blobby. I was looking at definitions of the word blob. The closest thing, I  am thinking, for that usage of the word is this definition:

Blob: an indeterminate mass or shape.

Blob almost fits but not exactly, because the shape of the plant is determinate mostly; though it does change and grow over time. "The Blob" a 1958 movie is what I think of as a blob. I would think the Fijian local name for Squamellaria is more fitting, though blob would be more appropriate than that.

Yeah, I hadn't checked your book for it. Maybe I should have because I didn't know you were going to create a new entry. I could have caught that for you. For future reference I will reference it in the future. It shows that you've done a thorough job with your book. I shared the link because it was fascinating. I mainly find it interesting because this fern can get so much nutrition from the ants wouthout having much to offer the ants in exchange. Some of these plant names can change so much. The same plant with a different name. It helps to have a resource that lists the synonym, basionym etc. I like the research article. The research was performed under the name Antrophyum lanceolatum, It is evidence that there are many more unknown mutualistic relationships between ants and plants.

Lead up/down the garden path: to mislead or deceive.

I didn't know what the phrase meant so I had to look it up.

After reading the pages again, I found some of the spelling was different. 

 "Cette espèce est beaucoup moins frequente que la M. Camponoti (sic) sauf de três rares exceptions, on ne Tobserve que sur les nids de Camponotusfemoratis." 

Suggested spelling:

"Cette espèce est beaucoup moins fréquente que la M. Camponoti (sic) sauf de très rares exceptions, on ne l'observe que sur les nids de Camponotus femoratus."

Suggested changes:

frequente › fréquente (added accent mark "é")

três › très ( changed accent mark from ê to è).

Tobserve › l'observe

Camponotusfemoratus › 

Camponotus femoratus

This article has some good information.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316666507_Phylogeny_of_the_tribes_Juanulloeae_and_Solandreae_Solanaceae

I really like the third image. It gives me ideas for a potluck. I'm thinking butter, sour cream, chopped green onions and bacon pieces would be good as toppings for that nice looking tater. I am glad you shared this. Amazing post!

This is what two fresh pollen grains looked like under reflected light before staining and treatment.

I had to recheck, restain and reimage a pollen sample to find that the pollen features were consistent. In the last image I think it is interesting because this pollen looks like the exine has a croton pattern, you can see the raised croton pattern especially in the last image from the set above. It looks like interconnected rings with 5/6 triangular columns on the muri. The raised areas on the exine appear darker in color. The muri is the raised area forming the reticulated pattern, the columns on the muri form the croton pattern. The lumina are the spaces between the muri. The brochus, is a lumen ( singular of lumina ) including half the width of the muri. To measure a brochus ( singular of brochi ), measure a lumen including half the width of the muri; halfway into the muri surrounding the lumen. The measurement of that space, the brochus, could be useful to know.

The pollen has an exine pattern that closely resembles a croton pattern, but it could be another type of exine patterning. More resolved images will help identify this.

Hydrated, stained, transmitted light brightfield.

These are amazing pictures. This plant does not look like it is from this planet.

Widefield fluorescence micrograph of hydrated Squamellaria pollen.

The pollen above was collected from a plant identified as Squamellaria. It has been stained to distinguish features. The linear aperture, the colpus (colpi plural), emits a yellow color on the pollen circumference. The red color is the exine.

Dry Squamellaria pollen imaged with reflected light.

In the autofluorescence image above the pollen is fresh and has not been stained. The pollen appears to be tricolpate, meaning there are three colpi. The cross section of the pollen in the polar orientation shows the three colpi simultaneously (blue arrows). The colpi are the three furrows in the circumference of the pollen wall.

Stained pollen surface detail.

I am working on more detailed images.