Myrmecophyte
Videos
Myrmecophytes are plants that live in a mutualistic association with a colony of ants. There are over 100 different genera of myrmecophytes. These plants possess structural adaptations in the form of
Pseudomyrmex ferruginea ants on a myrmecophyte tree, Vachellia cornigera, the bullhorn acacia of Central America
Crematogaster ants nesting in Macaranga bancana stem
Tuber on Myrmecodia echinata
Enlarged thorns and Beltian bodies on Acacia
Cecropia
Videos
Cecropia is a Neotropical genus consisting of 61 recognized species with a highly distinctive lineage of dioecious trees. The genus consists of pioneer trees in the more or less humid parts of the Neo
Myrmecophyte
…rich in lipids. Lipids are also the main nutrient found in pearl bodies, found on the leaves and stems of Ochroma plants. Most ant inhabitants of Cecropia plants harvest Müllerian bodies, as their primary food source. Remarkably these Müllerian bodies, found on the stalk of the leaf, are primarily glycogen…
Cecropia glazioui
Young Cecropia sp., Kourou, French Guiana
Cecropia insignis foliage
Ambay pumpwood, Cecropia pachystachya