Hydnophytum moseleyanum

Natural range and habitat of Hydnophytum moseleyanum

Hydnophytum moseleyanum occurs naturally from the Philippines through Maluku and New Guinea to the Bismarck and Solomon islands. It grows on trees in warm, wet tropical forest.

In the wild, ants may live inside the chambers of the caudex. The ants gain shelter, while material they leave inside the chambers can provide nutrients to the plant.

How to care for Hydnophytum moseleyanum

• Light: Give it bright indirect light with gentle direct sun outside the hottest part of the day.
• Temperature and humidity: Keep temperatures around 20–30 °C. Avoid prolonged temperatures below 13 °C. Keep humidity in the 60–80% range while allowing light air movement around the foliage.
• Watering: Water thoroughly, let the pot drain, then wait until roughly 25–40% of the coarse mix has dried before watering again.
• Potting mix: Use a coarse orchid mix based on bark with pumice, perlite or a small amount of sphagnum. Keep most of the swollen base above the mix.
• Feeding: Apply a weak complete fertiliser while new growth is forming.
• Repotting: Handle the fine roots gently. Repot when roots fill the container or the mix begins to break down.
• Propagation: Plants grown from seed develop the swollen storage base, or caudex. Stem cuttings usually grow as slim, unswollen shoots.

Problems to watch for with Hydnophytum moseleyanum

• An area of the caudex becomes dark, wet or soft: Rot has started in the tissue. Cut the damaged area back to firm healthy tissue with a sterile blade, discard the rotten tissue, let the wound dry, and place the plant in fresh coarse potting mix.
• Leaves drop quickly while the branches stay firm: Severe drying, cold or a sharp fall in humidity may be responsible. Return the plant to warm, humid conditions. If the mix is dry, water thoroughly; if it is still moist, wait before watering again.
• The caudex wrinkles and the mix is dry: The plant has used much of its stored water. Water thoroughly, let excess water drain, and water a little sooner next time.
• Brown scale bumps or white cottony clusters appear: Check leaf joints, stems and caudex crevices for scale or mealybugs. Isolate the plant, use a suitable treatment and repeat it as directed on the label.

Keep Hydnophytum moseleyanum away from children and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• Its effects after chewing or swallowing are unclear, and plant material can still cause an upset stomach.
• Contact a veterinarian or medical professional if symptoms develop or do not settle.

Hydnophytum moseleyanum: name and meaning

Hydnophytum combines Greek hydnon, referring to a truffle- or tuber-like swelling, with phyton, “plant”. Moseleyanum honours the British naturalist Henry Nottidge Moseley.

William Jack established the genus Hydnophytum in 1823 in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, volume 14, page 124.

Odoardo Beccari first described Hydnophytum moseleyanum in 1884 in Malesia, volume 2, page 125.