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Acacia cornigera
Photo take near home next to the road very common in this area, is a swollen-thorn acacia native to Mexico and Central America.Bullhorn Acacia is best known for its symbiotic relationship with a species of Pseudomyrmex ant (Pseudomyrmex ferruginea) that lives in its hollowed-out thorns. Unlike other acacias, Bullhorn acacias are deficient in the bitter alkaloids usually located in the leaves that defend against ravaging insects and animals. Bullhorn acacia ants fulfill that role.The ants act as a defense mechanism for the tree, protecting it against harmful insects, animals or humans that may come into contact with it. The ants live in the hollowed-out thorns for which the tree is named. In return, the tree supplies the ants with protein-lipid nodules called Beltian bodies from its leaflet tips and carbohydrate-rich nectar from glands on its leaf stalk. These Beltian bodies have no known function other than to provide food for the symbiotic ants. The aggressive ants release an alarm pheromone and rush out of their thorn "barracks" in great numbers.
It grows in secondary succession in seasonally dry ecosystems in southern Central America. Wikipedia.
Spotted on Jun 17, 2012
Submitted on Jun 17, 2012
2 Comments
Thanks Ava this one of my favorite tree plant is incredible the amazing defense
it has.
What fascinating information!