HYDNOPHYTUM TETRAPTERUM

This member of the Rubiaceae family was given this name by Odoardo Beccari in 1884. It is found in the Wa-Samson river area in western New Guinea; Indonesia, growing as an epiphyte with lots of water and some sun. The caudex might grow to three centimetres or more in diameter, the entire plant to 40 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 mane from Latin tetra; 'four' and ptero; 'bearing wings' for the wing-like appendages on the stems.