Jump to content
Forum for Epiphytic Myrmecophytes

Hydnophytum caminiferum - new species, that has just been published


Recommended Posts

....I wish to proudly present a spectacular and unique new species of Hydnophytum, that we have just published. The issue has arrived from the printer today.

 

Hydnophytum caminiferum Wistuba, U.Zimm., Gronem. & Marwinski  - Taublatt 78(1): 45. 2014 *

 

Taublatt is a German publication dealing mainly with carnivorous plants. The reason we published the species from West Papua here is the fact that the paper appeared side by side with a longer article about our 2013 expedition to West Papua during which we rediscovered Nepenthes paniculata which was kind of a 'holy grail' in the Nepenthes world that was lost for almost 100 years.

 

I try to get a PDF shortly and hopefully a permission from the publisher to eMail it to interested parties. It's published in German language, however.

 

In this thread I will shortly present more details on this fascinating species.

 

 

Hydnophytum caminiferum:

 

post-1-0-06106800-1398037677_thumb.jpg

 

post-1-0-20177100-1397919239_thumb.jpg

 

post-1-0-90930000-1398037695_thumb.jpg

 

post-1-0-37145900-1397919268_thumb.jpg

 

post-1-0-24993300-1397919272_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

Nepenthes paniculata:

 

post-1-0-74556200-1397919608_thumb.jpg

 

post-1-0-96475900-1397919612_thumb.jpg

 

post-1-0-87058800-1397919617_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

* Hydnophytum caminiferum, eine einzigartige neue Hydnophytum-Art von der Vogelkop-Halbinsel in West Papua (Indonesien) - Wistuba Zimmermann, Gronemeyer & Marwinski  - Das Taublatt 78(1): 45-50. 2014

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Andreas:

"Wow"

Congratulations on two extraordinary finds! The Hydnophytum is wonderful...at first glance, the access tubes to domatia remarkably similar to nest holes of a number of mud-daubing wasps. Were you able to determine if this sp. has infauna? Looks like it occurs above treeline?

As visually compelling as H. kajewskii is to many of those here, this one may be the king of the genus.

Kind regards,

J

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Andreas:

"Wow"

Congratulations on two extraordinary finds! The Hydnophytum is wonderful...at first glance, the access tubes to domatia remarkably similar to nest holes of a number of mud-daubing wasps. Were you able to determine if this sp. has infauna? Looks like it occurs above treeline?

As visually compelling as H. kajewskii is to many of those here, this one may be the king of the genus.

Kind regards,

J

 

Thank you :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes totally fascinating. My first thought on seeing these images is that the entrance holes may here be concerned primarily with impounding rainwater, (phytotelmata) something considered to be the original evolutionary purpose of hydnophytum tubers. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fantastic Andreas!  Two great plants. 

 

I am anxious to hear more about the Hydnophytum, including what the species name means.  This plant looks like it is from "off planet".  Is it growing on the dry side of the mountains?  I ask because the way those holes are set up I could envision them channeling rainwater down and out the holes in the bottom of the caudex to the roots.  (How is that for "off-planet" thinking.......laughing)

 

Stone Jaguar:  Nice try sucking up to Andreas with that "king of the genus" stuff.......laughing.  My vote is still with kajewskii especially now that I hear from Zhon that when the winds are strong they blow thru the holes on kajewskii and the plants whistle! 

 

Frank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes totally fascinating. My first thought on seeing these images is that the entrance holes may here be concerned primarily with impounding rainwater, (phytotelmata) something considered to be the original evolutionary purpose of hydnophytum tubers. 

 

Hi Derrick,

yes, all the chambers are filled with water. Interestingly, most chambers just have two holes which are connected by a "U" shaped channel - with a long and a short arm. The chambers of the tuber are not interconnected. In the water we found no fauna but just some detritus. It's strange that they occur terrestrially in an area with high rainfall and I see no real advantage in trapping water.

All the best

Andreas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Stone Jaguar:  Nice try sucking up to Andreas with that "king of the genus" stuff.......laughing.  My vote is still with kajewskii especially now that I hear from Zhon that when the winds are strong they blow thru the holes on kajewskii and the plants whistle! 

 

 

LOL

To be honest, H. kajewskii is still my favorite species too. But it's followed closely by H. caminiferum ;)

 

BTW, caminiferum comes from "carrying a chimney - caminus = chimney; ferre = carrying"

 

All the best

Andreas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One more "problem" when it comes to rainwater trapping: 

Most of the holes sit on more or less elongated tubes. So all the water that runs down from the shoots is nicely running down besides the holes and is not trapped. While the chambers are filled with water due to high rainfall levels they have a considerable "flaw" when it comes to being effective.

We also thought of carnivory, which would be quite a sensation but found no dead insects inside the chambers.

All the best

Andreas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm.

In spite of apparently the odd man out here in a matter I think we all would agred is purely a matter of personal aesthetics - I am a huge fan of tropical pitcher plants and find this plant's morphology irresistable - my impression from the attached images is that it really must be a spectacular spp. to encounter in habitat. I suspect that "clean grown captives", if they are ever made available, will have myrmecophyte-philes (¿?) swooning just a tiny bit more than even La Bella Kajewskii!!

The potential for carnivory and/or the gleaning of nutrients derived from the waste production by larva of flying insects seems like a very intriguing line of enquiry for Andreas and other fieldworkers. Perhaps there are boom-bust calendar cycles in native dipterans or whatever other arthropod might utilize these phytotelmata for reproductive purposes that may have been missed due to the luck of timing? It seems entirely plausible to me that these curious structures are the product of some very real, strong evolutionary pressure to maximize nutrient capture in an environment presumably poor in readily available nutrients at substrate-root interface (I'm assuming the apparently sympatric Nepenthes suggests this). The many years between the discovery of Nepenthes lowii, N. ephippiata, et. al. and the positive documentation of their quite surprising nutrient trapping relationships might suggest a bit of a parallel. Maybe another vertebrate association like their being seasonally utilized as refugia or breeding sites by a very small frog?

Or maybe it is just a rainwater catchment system. After all, "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar".

Obviously, this discovery also makes me wonder what other potentially spectacular ant rubiac taxa are out there waiting to be found in the poorly-botanized corners of Malesia?

And finally...tell me that the fifth image of the plant doesn't remind you of one of those terra cotta ornamental strawberry planters.

Cheers,

J

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A little background information from my notes primarily for those new to these plants.

" Because Hydnophytum generally have larger entrance holes than Myrmecodia, the sizes of infauna (inbiota is now a far better word) species are often larger, especially in plants occurring above the tree line in New Guinea where ants are rare.  One high altitude species identified only as LAM 1641 in Huxley (1978) is a large, often terrestrial plant, that rarely contained ants but often-held frogs, lizards and many large invertebrates. (LAM 1641 is Hydnophytum alboviride Merrill & L.M.Perry 1945. Collector Lam, H. J., 1641, 1920-10-18. on Doorman, Papua Province, New Guinea.)

See http://vstbol.leidenuniv.nl/nhn/nhn/specimen/record/1557284
Both entrance holes and internal chambers are particularly large in high altitude species along with correspondingly much smaller tissue volumes, indications that they suffer less water stress than might be expected.  Indeed, one high altitude Hydnophytum species contained water in its chambers.  (Huxley 1978.) Therefore, a very few species may be phytotelm (water impounding) species if only in part, (See also Anthorrhiza areolata, Hydnophytum kajewskii and H. myrtifolium in this regard) so it is not surprising that some frogs such as Cophixalus spp. actually breed in them.  (Tyler 1976, cited by Huxley 1978.)"

"H. myrtifolium Merrill & L. M. Perry 1945, PNG; Central Province; Mt. Tafa, a common epiphyte in mossy & foothill forest at 2100-2300 m., closely attached by several roots or pendent on a single tough flexible root to 1 m. long, tuber about 20cm Ø, contained water & some small red tree frogs but no ants. L fleshy, shining, darker above, F white, fruit fleshy, red."

I would be very interested in the climate especially the yearly rainfall statistics of the area where these plants occur if such have ever been recorded.  The leaves appear to be xerophytic if not semi succulent.

See also notes on Anthorrhiza areolata in its own section.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A little background information from my notes primarily for those new to these plants.

" Because Hydnophytum generally have larger entrance holes than Myrmecodia, the sizes of infaunal (inbiota is now a far better word) species are often larger, especially in plants occurring above the tree line in New Guinea where ants are rare.  One high altitude species identified only as LAM 1641 in Huxley (1978) is a large, often terrestrial plant, that rarely contained ants but often-held frogs, lizards and many large invertebrates. (LAM 1641 is Hydnophytum alboviride Merrill & L.M.Perry 1945. Collector Lam, H. J., 1641, 1920-10-18. on Doorman, West Papua, New Guinea.)                                    See http://vstbol.leidenuniv.nl/nhn/nhn/specimen/record/1557284

Both entrance holes and internal chambers are particularly large in high altitude species along with correspondingly much smaller tissue volumes, indications that they suffer less water stress than might be expected.  Indeed, one high altitude Hydnophytum species contained water in its chambers.  (Huxley 1978.) Therefore, a very few species may be phytotelm (water impounding) species if only in part, (See also Anthorrhiza areolata, Hydnophytum kajewskii and H. myrtifolium in this regard) so it is not surprising that some frogs such as Cophixalus spp. actually breed in them.  (Tyler 1976, cited by Huxley 1978.)"

"H. myrtifolium Merrill & L. M. Perry 1945, PNG; Central Province; Mt. Tafa, a common epiphyte in mossy & foothill forest at 2100-2300 m., closely attached by several roots or pendent on a single tough flexible root to 1 m. long, tuber about 20cm Ø, contained water & some small red tree frogs but no ants. L fleshy, shining, darker above, F white, fruit fleshy, red."

I would be very interested in the climate especially the yearly rainfall statistics of the area where these plants occur if such have ever been recorded.  The leaves appear to be xerophytic if not semi succulent.

 

Having also seen the water filled Hydnophytum tubers on Doorman I doubt that the trapping of water itself is of much use for the plants. These are very wet areas and the Hydnophytums often grow in cushions of moss. While I might be wrong, I do not have the impression that the flora here has to survive extended periods of drought. Or 2013 expedition was supposed to be within the dry season and it still was wet in the highlands.

I rather feel that the formation of phytotelms and attraction of flora and fauna that lives within is a key function. On the other hand one would have to record rainfall for longer periods of time in order to be sure. Maybe there are peak periods within the dry season that are really dry?

 

BTW, in order not to cause any confusion, H. caminiferum does not occur on Doorman but in the highlands of the Vogelkop.

 

All the best

Andreas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Obviously, this discovery also makes me wonder what other potentially spectacular ant rubiac taxa are out there waiting to be found in the poorly-botanized corners of Malesia?

 

That's my feeling as well!

Considering the number of species of the much more "visible" genus Nepenthes that were discovered over the last 10-20 years, just by specialised expeditions, I doubt that we know more than a small fraction of Hydnophytinae

The question only is if the rate of discovery can match the rate of extinction fueled by destruction of rainforest

 

All the best

Andreas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

waouh    superbe :wub:

 

it is really a hydnophytum or an other plant ?

 

a myrmecophyte ?   have you seen some ant around  or inside ?

 

have you a section from the top to the root ?

 

have you seen some drupe ?

 

 

nevertheless it is a great discovery

 

jeff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

waouh    superbe :wub:

 

it is really a hydnophytum or an other plant ?

 

a myrmecophyte ?   have you seen some ant around  or inside ?

 

have you a section from the top to the root ?

 

have you seen some drupe ?

 

 

nevertheless it is a great discovery

 

jeff

 

Dear Jeff,

it's certainly a Hydnophytum.

The leaves are extremely similar to the leaves of H. vaccinifolium but flowers are different, as well as the caudex.

I would place it into a group of species together with H. vaccinifolium and H. crassicaule.

Time will tell if my assumption with closest relatives is correct but right now, I'd bet so ;)

It's not a myrmecophyte. Honestly I never saw ants in highland species of Hydnophytum. Ants would drown in these plants that are filled with considerable quantities of water in most cases.

All the best

Andreas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bonjour

 

you have not the internal structure  picture ?

 

may be a anthorrhiza  ,these species   have  also water cavity .

 

jeff

 

Why Anthorrhiza?

I see nothing that hints to this genus. Arangement of inflorescences suggests relation to other highland species of Hydnophytum to me.

All the best

Andreas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

this specie is terrestrial ?

 

I'd be very curious to see the layout of cavity (to try to understand the role of these tubes). See if there are several kinds, if they communicate, etc..

if they have similarities with those of H.myrtifolium, H.guppyanum, A.caerulea?

 

if all the cavity are flooded ,are there a overflow hole ?

 

may be a protocarnivorous like heliamphora , may be make some nitrogene analysis to know ?

 

like DERRICK really interested by the ecologie and the climate to the area

 

the leaves seem to have a wax cuticle (as some MEDITERRANEAN species), which may make us believe has a warm climate, such as having internal reserves of water to keep the non-dry tissues.

 

jeff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

this specie is terrestrial ?

 

I'd be very curious to see the layout of cavity (to try to understand the role of these tubes). See if there are several kinds, if they communicate, etc..

if they have similarities with those of H.myrtifolium, H.guppyanum, A.caerulea?

 

if all the cavity are flooded ,are there a overflow hole ?

 

may be a protocarnivorous like heliamphora , may be make some nitrogene analysis to know ?

 

like DERRICK really interested by the ecologie and the climate to the area

 

the leaves seem to have a wax cuticle (as some MEDITERRANEAN species), which may make us believe has a warm climate, such as having internal reserves of water to keep the non-dry tissues.

 

jeff

 

 

Dear Jeff,

yes, it's terrestrial.

I do not have a picture, but opened one dead plant. It's only 2 holes per cavity normally - one is located lower than the other. Cavities have a "U" shape. One arm is longer than the other.

We also thought about some kind of carnivory, but we did not find prey.

Concerning the leaves they have the same structure as the leaves of H. vaccinifolium. If it's a wax layer I'd rather consider it a UV-protection. Both species occur in very high altitude. Hydnophytum caminiferum was found at more than 2000 meters asl.

All the best

Andreas 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok

 

the cavity are always filled with water ?

 

all the  cavity are around the tuber , or  have  you an other more large in the middle?

 

some speak for coarsely honey combed, to  aeration hole  from the cavity. But  if they are flooded, I do not see their usefulness, may  be a means to  preserved the  interior  of the cavity always  wet ? but why ?

 

Briefly, an enigma, although intessante to solve and understand, I love :wub:

 

jeff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah!

This fantastic species at finally been published! Congratulations!

The pictures are really fantastic... And its living mode is simply incredible!

 

Nice to see that Urs, Thomas and David are also associated with you for the publication.

 

Now I have to wait for Das Taublatt to read the publication... A good occasion for me to work my german. And I'll be happy to see the paper about the rediscovery of N. paniculata.

 

The best,

 

Aurélien

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...