Hydnophytum Sp - Part 7

This is a very interesting H. formicarum look alike. The tuber ridging and color resemble H. formicarum from Singapore. Well, the leaves are much bigger almost 10 cm long and 7 cm across. The leaf resembles some of the shrubby Ixora sp which is also incidentally from Rubiaceae. We have yet to see mature berries and like H. formicarum aborts easily during windy and dry weather.

This specimen comes from the island of Halmerhara, the largest island in the Maluku group. One would expect it to possess more xeric characteristics given its geographic location lies between much larger island of Sulawesi and New Guinea on the monsoonal zone. Large floppy leaves are kind of ill-adapt for seasonal climate, we are not prepared to allow it to shed its leaves at this point until we get more seedlings.