Hints for hunting ant-plants in habitat.

[Derrick]

For this threads first subject, I do not have answers.  Do any members have experience with altimeters?  I wish to purchase one for my next expedition?  It might help to identify taxa in the Myrmecodia horrida and schlechteri etc., complexes and of course it will add data to my photographs.

[jeff]

no possibility to determinate  with their morphological caracters [ leaves -stem ( alveoli ,clypeoli )- etc ]?

 

if you take in macro  picture  all  these discreminant caracters,  may be you can determinate after in your home ?

 

I still will proceed as it for me 'in situ' in europe  for  the genus Pinguicula

 

jean françois (jeff)

[Derrick]

The better mosquito repellents.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/teach-me/65939349/why-mozzies-love-you-over-others

[jeff]

to keep the flower buds in order to analyze with the binocular thereafter, did you use conservation method in alcohol at 60 ° -70 ° c in micro tube ?

 

jean françois

[Derrick]

To be able to identify TRUE biological species (not the morphological 'species' preferred by plant sellers and their customers) would involve enormous amounts of work (thus time) in the field to truly delineate taxa.  There are such things as biological clines where, over ever increasing distances, interbreeding populations can vary to the point that morphologically they seem to be different. There are even ring clines where species meet at one point in a 'circle' where they can no longer interbreed, yet they can interbreed at all points backward along their cline, thus in total they are still part of an interbreeding biological species.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cline_%28biology%29

   For a variety of restrictions imposed by my present country of residence, not the least being some of the toughest bio controls in the world, I restrict my explorations to photography.  Further impediments are imposed by costs, (Papua New Guinea is a difficult and expensive place to visit)  thus there is a frequent lack of time and photographic opportunities, especially as specimens are often high in trees.  What you have is about the best you will get from me.  Furthermore, I lack confidence in older approaches to botanical taxonomy and I look forward to more modern methods (perhaps DNA) being applied to what I would currently describe as a fiasco. 

[Derrick]

Sites such as this provide hints regarding road access and other background information; however, one would never attempt such regions in the wet season.

http://www.markoshea.info/research_fieldwork_papua10-1a.php One of a number of reasons why one would not wear shorts. http://www.markoshea.info/research_fieldwork_papua13-2a.php

[Derrick]

Updated.

These Papua New Guinea islands are Anthorrhiza habitat. http://www.chilliwebsites.com/sitefiles/8283/file/New%20Birding%20Milne%20Bay%20description.pdf    Possible species to be seen are Anthorrhiza areolata, A. bracteosa, A. recurvispina, Hydnophytum auridemens ,http://apps.kew.org/herbcat/getImage.do?imageBarcode=K000761977 H. dendrecastense, H. orichalcum, H. rium, Myrmecodia albertisii subsp dentrecastensis, M. albertisii subsp incompta, M. pendens, M. platytyrea subsp antoinii, M. schlechteri subsp pendula and M. tuberosa "papuana". Other possibles (some improbable) are Lecanopteris deparioides, L. mirabilis, L. sinuosa and dischidias such as D. bengalensis an ant garden epiphyte, D. imbricata, D. hirsuta an ant garden epiphyte, D. litoralis (not myrmecophytic), D. major, D. milnei, D. ovata (not myrmecophytic) and D. nummularia.  Myrmecophytic orchid possibles are Acriopsis liliifolia, Dendrobium crumenatum, Grammatophyllum scriptum, and Grammatophyllum speciosum.

This is an extremely rare chance to explore remote regions of Papua New Guinea very inexpensively. Currently there are zero photographs of Anthorrhiza species on the www.