Ant plants, commonly referred to in the wild, feature tuberous bases (or caudexes) with chambers and passageways that serve as apartments for ants in exchange for protecting and fertilizing these epiphytic tropical plants from pests and disease.
These unique plants from southeast Asia thrive under bright, indirect light and warm, humid conditions. Water them when soil moisture drops between 50%-75% dryness.
Hydnophytum
Hydnophytum is an intriguing family of epiphytic plants native to Southeast Asia, northern Australia, and the Pacific islands. Also referred to as maze plants due to the intricate network of tunnels within their caudex, Hydnophytum is part of a fantastic ant-plant relationship wherein ants cultivate edible fungus in rooms and passageways within its caudex, providing nourishment both for themselves and the plant while simultaneously protecting against insects and birds that might consume either its fruit or plants themselves!
Modern horticultural interest in hydrophytes has only recently arisen, beginning around the late 1980s and early 1990s when wild-collected accessions first arrived at U.S. botanical gardens like Marie Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota, Florida. Australian succulent grower Attila Kapitany has documented many species belonging to this genus in stunning photographs taken over time.
Ant plants make excellent bonsai succulents and respond well to main stem pruning. Hydnophytum tolerates cool temperatures but is sensitive to overwatering and will rot if left in damp conditions for too long. Bright sunlight may cause leaf burn.
Ant plants offer numerous medicinal uses, from treating skin lesions and fevers to fevers, coughs, and headaches. Their roots contain butin, an anti-tyrosinase agent shown to have therapeutic potential against pigmentation disorders like vitiligo. Tetracycline and nitric oxide have also been discovered as anticancer compounds; butin may even possess anticarcinogenic properties according to testing on mice; it has yet to undergo human trials.
Ants
Ants are an often-seen sight around the home and in forests and rainforests worldwide. Their behavior is complex and varied – some relationships between ants and plants may be exploitative; other connections may be more commensalistic – for instance, some plants provide shelter to ants for shelter purposes while they help disperse seeds to disperse further.
During the mating season, queens leave their nests and search for a mate. Winged males mate with the queen and deposit their sperm into her sperm sac; fertilized eggs hatch into workers who protect and defend their nest. Unfertilized eggs produce males that die shortly after mating; females have eggs throughout the year, while a small percentage are fertile queens.
Ants transport food from plants back to their colonies, while in exchange, they receive protection from predators and parasites from these same plants. Furthermore, ants play an integral part in seed dispersal as they distribute the seeds across various areas of forest habitats; some epiphytic plants even promote this behavior with unique structures, like extrafloral nectaries and food bodies that encourage this behavior.
Ant plants prefer warmer and humid conditions, though they can tolerate drier climates as long as their soil drains well. Ant plants are vulnerable to root rot if their soil becomes waterlogged; if signs of this are visible, remove your plant carefully from its pot and scrutinize its roots – healthy roots should be off-white with firm roots. At the same time, any dark, soft ones needing removal should be cut away carefully before repotting with richer soil.
Feeding
Some growers of ant plants feed them by spraying neem oil, which protects mealybugs that often plague home gardens. If mealybugs continue to bother your plants, another effective way is wiping your ant plant with rubbing alcohol and wiping down with it periodically as a solution. A more straightforward method for providing sugar to ants would be a simple syrup water recipe, which works exceptionally well if your plant includes high protein food sources like dead insects or dog biscuits.
Ants who live in close association with ant plants consume extrafloral nectar (EFN), an abundance of sugars, amino acids, and minerals produced by an extrafloral nectar-producing bacteria Pseudomyrmex strain that supplements their low protein diets. A recent study published by PLOS ONE researchers demonstrated that these ants preferentially ingested the sugar-rich EFN produced by this specific Pseudomyrmex bacteria strain.
Ant colonies often rely on sap-sucking insects like aphids for nutrition. Ants protect these harmful bugs from predators while “milking” the insects’ honeydew back to their nests in mutualistic symbiosis, providing their primary source of protein.
Ants have developed a mutualistic relationship, using their mouthparts to extract sugar from plants and transfer it directly into their bodies for energy use in movement and nest-building activities. Fungi found in their mouth and throat are catalysts to convert this sugar into forms they can digest and absorb quickly.
Fungus is essential in the three-way relationship, yet researchers remain unsure what its role is other than providing critical nutrients to ants. It could serve as a structural component in their digestive systems or recycle waste into forms more readily absorbed by ants.
Watering
Ant plants are slow-growing houseplants that grow from seed. Because of this, they require very minimal pruning or repotting. When selecting a container with ample drainage holes for reporting purposes. Ant plants are susceptible to root rot when waterlogged, so having well-draining soil is crucial.
Ant plant seeds often come protected in pods. Carefully open one to release the source and place it onto a sheet of sphagnum peat moss. Fill a plastic cup with enough water to submerge it, and soak it for several minutes thoroughly; this will increase germination rates. Place this peat moss in a pot with multiple drainage holes and additional water for best results.
Ant plants’ tuberous bases- called caudexes- contain chambers to store water, serving as convenient homes for ants regardless of whether or not the Huntington’s Ant Plant hosts them directly. Though its caudex does not form entrance holes and add-on rooms over time, its tuberous base still comprises chambers, which make for handy water storage facilities and homes for the Huntington’s ant plant Its tuberous bases provide convenient locations for housing ants that visit its leaves.
Ant plants rely on their relationship with ants in nature to defend them from herbivorous insects that might threaten them; at home, occasionally spraying neem oil on its leaves is an effective pest control measure for such plants.
Ant plants thrive in warm, humid conditions. Keep the soil damp without being waterlogged; use light-balanced fertilizers every spring and summer (do not fertilize fall/winter due to dormancy of plant).
