HYDNOPHYTUM OVATUM

This member of the Rubiaceae family was given this name by Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel in 1869. It is found in Maluku in Indonesia, growing as an epiphyte with lots of water and some sun. The caudex can grow to 20 centimetres in diameter, the entire plant to 70 centimetres in height. The flowers are white. The genera name after Greek hydnon meaning 'tuber' and phyton meaning 'plant', after the swollen branches. The species name means 'elliptic, but broader at the base' for the leaves.