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The various origins and developmental pathways apparently all serve the same main function, i.e. attracting ants. Because elaiosomes are present in at least 11,000, but possibly up to 23,000 species of plants, elaiosomes are a dramatic example of convergent evolution in flowering plants.
Myrmecochory is exhibited by more than 3,000 plant species worldwide [3] and is present in every major biome on all continents except Antarctica. [4] Seed dispersal by ants is particularly common in the dry heath and sclerophyll woodlands of Australia (1,500 species) and the South African fynbos (1,000 species).
Pseudomyrmex ferruginea ants on a myrmecophyte tree, Vachellia cornigera, the bullhorn acacia of Central America. Myrmecophytes (/ m ər ˈ m ɛ k ə f aɪ t /; literally "ant-plant") are plants that live in a mutualistic association with a colony of ants. There are over 100 different genera of myrmecophytes. [1]
May attract cats. Chamomile: repels flying insects [4] Chives: repels carrot fly, Japanese beetle, [2] and aphids [3] Chrysanthemums: repel roaches, ants, the Japanese beetle, ticks, silverfish, lice, fleas, bedbugs, and root-knot nematodes [2] Citronella grass: repels insects, may deter cats [5] Clovers: repel aphids and wireworms [3] Common ...
EFNs being outside of the plant flowers are not employed in pollination; their primary purpose is to attract and sustain tending ants. Many plants can control the flow of nectar from the EFNs so that the availability of nectar varies according to daily and seasonal cycles.
Acacia is one example of a plant whose nectaries attract ants, which protect the plant from other insect herbivores. [20] [21] Among passion flowers, for example, extrafloral nectaries prevent herbivores by attracting ants and deterring two species of butterflies from laying eggs. [25]
Peonies tend to attract ants to the flower buds. This is due to the nectar that forms on the outside of the flower buds, and is not required for the plants' own pollination or other growth. [ 23 ] The presence of ants is thought to provide some deterrence to other harmful insects though, so the production of ant-attracting nectar is plausibly a ...
Plants fall into pollination syndromes that reflect the type of pollinator being attracted. These are characteristics such as: overall flower size, the depth and width of the corolla, the color (including patterns called nectar guides that are visible only in ultraviolet light), the scent, amount of nectar, composition of nectar, etc. [2] For example, birds visit red flowers with long, narrow ...