Primary research source. David Kleijn and Ruurd van Donkelaar, “Notes on the taxonomy and ecology of the genus Hoya (Asclepiadaceae) in Central Sulawesi,” Blumea 46(3):457–483 (2001). Read the publisher original at Naturalis.

What this source records

The authors describe ecological observations for eight flowered Hoya species in Central Sulawesi. Their table of 21 selected Iridomyrmex cordatus ant nests records H. brevialata on 18 nests near Tentena and Gimpu in the Bada Valley (p. 464). The species account also describes H. brevialata growing on tree bark without ants (p. 467).

The authors observed H. myrmecopa rooting in a branch cavity occupied by Tetramorium ants. One H. pallilimba plant occupied a hollow Pandanus stilt root with carton-like material, but no ants were found at inspection. They also observed these species growing without ants (pp. 464, 479–481).

How to read the findings

The 18-of-21 figure describes the selected ant nests, not the proportion of all H. brevialata plants associated with ants. The observations do not show that ants are required for these species, that ants moved the seeds, or that the reported Central Sulawesi elevations are species-wide limits. The article also reviews earlier literature; cited examples are distinct from the authors’ field observations. The source’s taxonomic names are presented as published, pending separate modern-name reconciliation.