• Source: Myrmecophila

Myrmecophila is a genus of plants belonging to the family Orchidaceae. It is native to southern Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and Venezuela.
Species in this genus are either epiphytic or lithophytic in their growth habit. Their slightly scented flowers are produced on pole-like growths that extend upwards from 1 to 4 meters high and take up to 4 months to develop. Several of the Schomburgkia species were transferred into the genus Myrmecophila by Robert Allen Rolfe in 1917.
The name Myrmecophila is a derivative of the word myrmecophile and refers to the symbiotic relationship with colonies of ants that are usually found living in the large, hollowed-out, banana-like pseudobulbs. An opening in the base of each pseudobulb serves as an entrance for the ants which harvest nectar from the peduncles and flowers and forage on other plants in the community. The ants associated with Myrmecophila tibicinis pack many of the pseudobulbs with debris that includes other dead ants, a variety of insects, pieces of plant material, seeds and sand. Myrmecophila tibicinis directly utilizes minerals of the organic debris ("garbage dumps") deposited by the ants inside the hollow pseudobulbs. Since the open-canopied trees of the tropics can often be nutrient poor habitats, a small input of nutrients from insects can have a significant effect on plant survival and growth rates. Myrmecophila tibicinis can grow quite well in the absence of ants, though it is quite rare to find an uninhabited plant. The species of ant responsible for forming colonies in Myrmecophila tibicinis are as follows: Brachymyrmex, Camponotus planatus, Camponotus abdominalis, Camponotus rectangularis, and Crematogaster brevispinosa, Monomorium ebenium, Paratrechina longicornis, Zacryptocerus maculatus, and Ectatomma tuberculatum.




Species


Species accepted as of June 2022:




Natural hybrids






See also


Schomburgkia - a very close genus




References



Botanical Society of America
Orchid Species Culture
The World Checklist of Monocotyledons




External links


Media related to Myrmecophila at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Myrmecophila at Wikispecies
The Orchid Photo Page
Belize Botanic Gardens Archived 2010-12-25 at the Wayback Machine
Orquídeas Mexican
Jardin L'Encyclopédie
Royal Horticultural Society: Registration of Orchids
Ant Plants

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Psychotria myrmecophila
• Mesolita myrmecophila
• Clerodendrum
• Jejayi
• Mesolita lineolata
• Mesolita scutellata
• Mesolita interrupta
• Mesolita antennalis
• Mesolita pascoei
• Mesolita inermis
• Myrmecophila
• Myrmecophila humboldtii
• Myrmecophila tibicinis
• Ophiocordyceps myrmecophila
• Batrachedra myrmecophila
• Myrmecophila brysiana
• Monotoma myrmecophila
• Niphopyralis myrmecophila
• Hylaeaicum myrmecophilum
• Cigaritis myrmecophila