Myrmecodia - The Jungle Ant-Hive Plant | Plants of Papua New Guinea

[@WildBillAwesome]

Okay this is INSANELY cool, and seriously well done too. Those close-up shots were amazing

[@AmblingwithSam]

Thanks! That means a lot to me!

[@robhrouda]

I like the casual sort of conversational style.

[@DarrenEnns1]

Symbiosis is so cool! :)

[@bdubgreene]

Woo hoo! Amblin Sam!!!!!

[@sjgoertzen8478]

Very interesting! Plants can be pretty amazing!

[@FruitHunters]

Learned a lot Sam🌞

[@odasiti]

Cool video, I definitely learned something. Thanks Sam! Keep up the great work :)

[@AmblingwithSam]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@brunuhuu]

Fantastic dude, thank you for share!

[@manamsana69]

I really like your videos. Hope you get more subscribers!

[@AmblingwithSam]

Thanks! I appreciate it!

[@BamboodPanda]

Thanks Sam! I learned something interesting!

[@AmblingwithSam]

Thanks! Glad to hear it.

[@Octeris]

Fascinating!

[@bdubgreene]

This is wild. Very interesting stuff

[@AmblingwithSam]

Yeah, they're fascinating plants. Probably one of my favorites now.

[@DUCKVILLELOL]

Given the way it absorbs nutrients from animal decay; are these effectively a form of carnivorous plant? I'm assuming not given they aren't in the same family (Droseraceae) but is there any reason why not?

[@AmblingwithSam]

Good question! They're close, but not quite. While there are some examples of carnivorous plants outside of Droceraceae (the Nepenthes pitcher plants being the most famous examples), Myrmecodias don't quite meet all of the criteria to be called carnivorous. The three main criteria are: 1. The ability to kill/trap small animals 2. The ability to digest the prey (can take advantage of bacteria to do so sometimes) 3. They make use of the prey's nutrients There are of course some grey areas here, and criteria can differ slightly depending which scientist you talk to, but generally all three are needed to call a plant truly carnivorous, and Myrmecodias don't meet criteria #1 since their "prey" is already dead when it's brought to them.

[@AmblingwithSam]

Side note: "Saprophyte" is another category of plants that partially works for Myrmecodias, but not fully. It refers to plants that feed on already dead and decaying material (through bacteria or fungi), but to be called a saprophyte, it has to be a plant that has no chlorophyll and can't produce its own food through photosynthesis, so it wouldn't apply here.

[@ValCronin]

I would say yes. just because a carnivore has their food prapared for them doesnt mean they arent still eating critters!

[@RodrigoSoar3s]

Such an interesting plant!

[@ValCronin]

Where is your video on cecropia trees? What is the title? I couldn't find any video of yours with that in the title...

[@AmblingwithSam]

Oh right, I should have made a note about it under this video, but it was unfortunately one of several videos I never ended up finishing due to a hard drive crash. I did record some material on my trip to Latin America though, so I do hope to release a Cecropia video yet.

[@reinmar2101]

Do you happen to sell seeds of this species? :)

[@AmblingwithSam]

I don't myself, but I found a couple places that did when I searched online. The only place that wasn't sold out though was this one: africa-seeds.com/products/myrmecodia-beccarii-5-seeds I did see a few private sales as well of live plants on Etsy, amongst a couple other sites.

[@skybluskyblueify]

So the fruits are a little like some mistletoe fruits where they depend on birds to deficate the seeds on tree branches. [I know the mistletoe is parasitic versus the plant you are talking about in the video.]

[@AmblingwithSam]

Interesting! I didn't know that about mistletoe, but it makes sense. Reading up about it a bit, apparently the mistletoe fruits also require specialized beaks or behavior to eat, which limits the dispersers to ones that will likely disperse on trees. Interesting stuff!

[@irvgoertzen137]

Wow! What a bizarre, entrepreneurial plant! Developing real estate for ants in the mid-level tree canopy.

[@KateCetinich]

so interesting I had an ant plant fall out of a tree in back yard. i am treating it like an orchid in a basket hanging in same tree

[@bernardkelontii1531]

OUT OF CURIOUSITY, A QUESTION, ARE THESE MEDICINAL PLANTS? I HAVE SEEN PEOPLE USING THEM ESPECIALLY ASIANS. IF IT IS THEN INCLUDE IN YOUR PRESENTATION.. SAM THANK YOU PROMOTING