help ID this strange climbing plant please!

[nereid]

right - I'm a complete numpty when it comes to "loading images" and such and actually getting the whole thing together in a sensible format ... what I'm trying to do is ask if anyone can identify the pic I just uploaded to Gallery Images ... "climbing plant - pink hlowers (meant to be flowers!) and bloated pod"
I purchased the novelty at a mall and didn't get a chance to ask the lady selling them what it is and how to care for it ...

[animartco]

Originally Posted by nereid

right - I'm a complete numpty when it comes to "loading images" and such and actually getting the whole thing together in a sensible format ... what I'm trying to do is ask if anyone can identify the pic I just uploaded to Gallery Images ... "climbing plant - pink hlowers (meant to be flowers!) and bloated pod"
I purchased the novelty at a mall and didn't get a chance to ask the lady selling them what it is and how to care for it ...

Hi Nereid. Did you ask whether it is an indoor or outdoor plant? If the pod is an actual pod then its some kind of pea, or if the flower is big it could be the climbing lily. They have things that look like pods. Are you sure it's a climber? The commonest plant about in shops at the moment is broom which will have small pink flowers and pods. Keep it indoors in the warm until you have identified it! No plant bought in flower should be put outside in the winter (Except pansies and primulas and a VERY few others.)

[Lancashire Lad]

Hi nereid,

I've linked a copy of your image here so that people can find it: -



A strange looking plant indeed

However, since you say (on the photo details) that you bought the plant in Johannesburg, and it is clearly some sort of exotic which would not naturally be found in Britain, you may get few responses here.

It might prove more productive if you were to post this request on WAB's sister site, Wild About The World: - Worldwide Wildlife and Environment Forum as the users of that site might be more able to give you good advice.

Regards,
Mike.

[animartco]

It looks like a Hoya species to me Nereid. I don't know whether there is an outdoor variety in our climate. Don't plant out until you've checked.

[ceterach]

Hi Nereid

Animartco is close, it is not a Hoya sp but another asclepiad genus, Dischidia, probably D.pectamoides. The pods aren't pods at all but adapted leaves that encourage ants onto the plant to colonize them.

In fact when I checked on line I even found your plant!!!
Dischidia pectinoides

They are certainly NOT hardy.

All the best

John

[KeenTeen17]

That is one weird plant!!

[tcvarlh]

Yep, Dischidia pectinoides or Ant Plant

Mom had one some years back. Weird looking but kinda cute too
h

[nereid]

I just KNEW you marvellous people would know the answers! Thank you thank you thank you

I've since found buckets of useful information about "Amazing Ant Plants -Dischidia Pectinoides" . . . such as:-

"Commonly called ant plants, these climbers are famous for their balloon-like leaves and small red flowers. They get their name from the fact that they are myrmecophytes, which means they have a symbiotic relationship with ants. The small balloon leaves serve as useful shelters that ants can colonize and store food in, for which the plant receives abundant carbon dioxide and nutrients in return.

Dischidia pectinoides are native to the Philippines and prefer a warm place with bright indirect light. They root into the bark of trees, so orchid bark makes a suitable medium for repotting. Care must be taken to avoid over-watering since too much moisture will kill the plant. Just soak the bark to water them, allowing the medium to dry out before doing so again. In fact, misting the plant once or twice a week should be plenty to care for it.

As it matures dischidia will make new growth quickly, climbing onto anything it can wrap its vines around. The plant blooms year round creating tiny red, pink, and purple blooms." from Nurserymen's Exchange | BloomRite® Indoor Plant Wholesale - Featured Plant of the Week (Dischidia Pectinoides Ant Plants)

and on another site:-

"These scrambling epiphytes get their name from their large, hollow sacs that ants colonize. The plants benefit from carbon dioxide and 'fertilizer' produced by the ants, while the ants are provided with a convenient shelter. These ant plants produce clusters of bright pink flowers for most of the year. They come potted in large, hanging snail shells, and make attractive indoor plants.
Grow indoors in filtered sunlight. Water by dipping shell into water or by misting the leaves, and allow substrate to dry between waterings."

Why this site http://www.predatoryplants.com/Disch...-p/dis-pec.htm lists them under predatory instead of symbiotic plants beats me !

A special thank you to the lad from Lancs for finding my pic I'll have to practice placing pictures in the prose ...