Dischidia vidalii (Cultivated)

Images by Rashida Atthar (Id by Satish Chile) (Inserted by J.M.Garg) (For more photos & complete details, click on the links)

Dischidia-an epiphyte : 8 posts by 4 authors. Attachments (2)

Thought of sharing this very interesting and unusal leaves of Dischidia. we had seen the same at Shillong high above on tree trunks and could not capture any pics. These are growing in a pot  at my friend’s place at Shahpur, Mah. as seen by us on 28 March ’10.
Quoting from Stern ” Some leaves of Dischidia, an epiphyte … from tropical Australasia, develop into pouches that become the home of ant colonies. The ants carry in soil and add nitrogenous wastes, while moisture collects in the leaves through condensation of the water vapor coming from the mesophyll through stomata. This creates a good growing medium for roots, which develop adventitiously from the same node as the leaf and grow down into the soil contained in the urnlike pouch.  In other words, this extraordinary plant not only reproduces itself by conventional means but also, with the aid of ants, provides its own fertilized growing medium and flower pots and then produces special roots, which ” exploit ” the situation.”
After this any doubts about how intelligent plant are? !!

Dischidia diphylla. This is one of the ant trees. Asclepiadaceae

The link Below provides good set of photos of different species of Dischidia sp. Lastly thanks to … for uploading one of the most important and interesting example of Myrmecophily.
Photos- http://www.dischidia.com/picture_index.htm
Myrmecophily information- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmecophily

Many thanks for sharing with us, once again one of natures wonders.
The symbiotic relationship between ants and plant. Incidentally I
notice a spider in both the pictures does it play a part too?
I had once come across similar relationship between brown bugs, ants and a spider. The spider I guess weaves a web and holds the leaves together, the ants places the brown bugs in succulent spots and the bugs provide honeydew to the ants.

Thanks … I think in this case the spider is  only around, as on any other plant !