''Myrmecodia lamii'' is a myrmecophilous (Ant loving) plant in the Gardenia Family (Rubiaceae) and native to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, with a greatly swollen

hypocotyl The hypocotyl (short for "hypocotyledonous stem", meaning "below seed leaf") is the stem of a germinating seedling, found below the cotyledons (seed leaves) and above the radicle (root). Eudicots As the plant embryo grows at germination, it send ...

region containing numerous tunnels and chambers utilized by certain species of ants as a colony. This hypocotyl can measure up to 70 centimeters (27.5 inches) in height by up to 45 cm ( 17.75 inches) in width; by far the largest known hypocotyl.Blumea Volume 37 Issue 2 (1993) pages 322-323 with illustration

References

Psychotrieae Myrmecophytes Endemic flora of New Guinea {{Rubiaceae-stub