Phytotelma (plural phytotelmata) is a small water-filled cavity in a terrestrial plant. The water accumulated within these plants may serve as the habitat for associated

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is '' flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. ...

and

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...

. A rich literature in German summarised by Thienemann (1954) developed many aspects of phytotelm biology. Reviews of the subject by Kitching (1971) and Maguire (1971) introduced the concept of phytotelmata to English-speaking readers. A multi-authored book edited by Frank and Lounibos (1983)Frank, J.H. and Lounibos, L.P. (1983) ''Phytotelmata: Terrestrial plants as hosts for aquatic insect communities'', Plexus Press. dealt in 11 chapters with classification of phytotelmata, and with phytotelmata provided by bamboo internodes, banana leaf axils,

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

leaf axils, ''

Nepenthes ''Nepenthes'' () is a genus of carnivorous plants, also known as tropical pitcher plants, or monkey cups, in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus includes about 170 species, and numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are mo ...

'' pitchers, ''

Sarracenia ''Sarracenia'' ( or ) is a genus comprising 8 to 11 species of North American pitcher plants, commonly called trumpet pitchers. The genus belongs to the family Sarraceniaceae, which also contain the closely allied genera '' Darlingtonia'' an ...

'' pitchers, tree holes, and ''

Heliconia ''Heliconia'', derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word (), is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to c ...

'' flower

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or o ...

s and leaf rolls. A classification of phytotelmata by Kitching (2000) recognizes five principal types: bromeliad tanks, certain

carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants still generate some of their energy from photosynthesis ...

s such as pitcher plants, water-filled

tree hollow A tree hollow or tree hole is a semi-enclosed cavity which has naturally formed in the trunk or branch of a tree. They are found mainly in old trees, whether living or not. Hollows form in many species of trees, and are a prominent feature of nat ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

internodes, and axil water (collected at the base of leaves, petals or

s); it concentrated on food webs. A review by Greeney (2001) identified seven forms: tree holes, leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

s, flowers, modified leaves, fallen vegetative parts (e.g. leaves or bracts), fallen fruit

husk Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective ...

s, and stem rots.

Etymology

The word "phytotelma" derives from the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

roots ''phyto-'', meaning 'plant', and '' telma'', meaning 'pond'. Thus, the correct

singular Singular may refer to: * Singular, the grammatical number that denotes a unit quantity, as opposed to the plural and other forms * Singular homology * SINGULAR, an open source Computer Algebra System (CAS) * Singular or sounder, a group of boar ...

is ''phytotelma''. The term was coined by L. Varga in 1928. The correct pronunciation is "phytotēlma" and "phytotēlmata" because of the Greek origin (the stressed vowels are here written as ''ē'').

Ecology

Often the faunae associated with phytotelmata are unique: Different groups of microcrustaceans occur in phytotelmata, including

ostracod Ostracods, or ostracodes, are a class of the Crustacea (class Ostracoda), sometimes known as seed shrimp. Some 70,000 species (only 13,000 of which are extant) have been identified, grouped into several orders. They are small crustaceans, typic ...

s (''Elpidium spp''. ''Metacypris bromeliarum''), harpacticoid copepods (''Bryocamptus spp'', ''Moraria arboricola, Attheyella spp.'') and cyclopoid copepods ('' Bryocyclops spp''.,''Tropocyclops'' ''jamaicensis''). In tropical and subtropical rainforest habitats, many species of frogs specialize on phytotelma as a readily available breeding ground, such as some microhylids (in pitcher plants),

poison dart frog Poison dart frog (also known as dart-poison frog, poison frog or formerly known as poison arrow frog) is the common name of a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae which are native to tropical Central and South America. These species are ...

s and some

tree frog A tree frog (or treefrog) is any species of frog that spends a major portion of its lifespan in trees, known as an arboreal state. Several lineages of frogs among the Neobatrachia have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not closely rela ...

s (in bromeliads). Many insects use them for breeding and foraging, for instance odonates, water bugs,

beetles Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describe ...

and dipterans. Some species also are of great practical significance; for example, immature stages of some

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es, such as some ''

Anopheles ''Anopheles'' () is a genus of mosquito first described and named by J. W. Meigen in 1818. About 460 species are recognised; while over 100 can transmit human malaria, only 30–40 commonly transmit parasites of the genus ''Plasmodium'', which ...

'' and ''

Aedes ''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: '' Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive sp ...

'' species that are important disease vectors, develop in phytotelmata.

References

{{reflist

External links

Bromeliad Biota

Heliconia Biota

Video footage of a beech tree-hole Ecology Plant anatomy

Etymology

Ecology

See also

References

External links