Canon EOS 5D Mark III + Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 1002/100 ZE
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Canon EOS 5D Mark III + Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 1002/100 ZE
Commonly known as bullhorn acacia (family Fabaceae), is a swollen-thorn tree and Myrmecophyte native to Mexico and Central America.
(Myrmecophytes are plants that live in a mutualistic relationship with ... ants!)
desert plants greenhouse
Liberec Botanical Garden ✶ Botanická zahrada Liberec
Liberec, Czech Republic
20240327_135346
Bull-Horn Acacia – Tamaulipas, Mexico ©Steve Frye. March 27, 2018.
Bullhorn Acacia (Vachellia cornigera), the one with the ants living inside. This one came complete with ants but they didn't want to sit still for the camera.
Giant thorns of Bull Horn Acacia, hollow to harbor protective ants. Photo from southwestern Nicaragua.
In context at www.dixpix.ca/meso_america/Flora/mimosoid/index.html
A Mesoamerican species known as Cornizuela. Hollow thorns are to house protective ants. Photo from northeastern Panama.
In context at www.dixpix.ca/meso_america/Flora/mimosoid/index.html
Bullhorn Acacia. A tree of dry tropical forests rom western Mexico through Central America. The large hollow paired thorns house a certain species of ants that protect the plant against predators. In turn, the tree has nectaries on the leaves that provide food for the ants. This is a well-known system, much more complex than my short description here, that has been extensively studied. Photos taken in the Bolz Conservatory at the Olbrich Botanical Garden in Madison, Wisconsin.
Bullhorn Acacia. A tree of dry tropical forests rom western Mexico through Central America. The large hollow paired thorns house a certain species of ants that protect the plant against predators. In turn, the tree has nectaries on the leaves that provide food for the ants. This is a well-known system, much more complex than my short description here, that has been extensively studied. Photos taken in the Bolz Conservatory at the Olbrich Botanical Garden in Madison, Wisconsin.
Bullhorn Acacia
Costa Rica
1988
Mature intact "thorn".
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Bullhorn Acacia
Costa Rica
1988
A seedling with a few Beltian bodies barely visible - view original size.
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Bullhorn Acacia
Costa Rica
1988
A mature stem with extensive "thorns."
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Bullhorn Acacia
Costa Rica
1988
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Immature "thorn"
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Bullhorn Acacia
Costa Rica
1988
A tropical American species of Acacia (? more correctly Vachellia) that has a natural and mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship with a species of ant (Pseudomyrmex ferruginea.)
The ants are provided with a natural home in the hollow thorns (stipular spines) found in pairs at each leaf node and with food in the form of Beltian bodies attached at the end of each pinnae (leaf segment)
The plant is kept free of predators by its "guests".
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Bullhorn Acacia
Costa Rica
1988
Showing the probable pollinators (bees).
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Bullhorn Acacia
Costa Rica
1988
Fruit
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Bullhorn Acacia
Costa Rica
1988
A cutaway "thorn".
See Main Image for more information.
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The Bull Horn Acacia (Vachellia collensii) has a unique symbiotic relationship with ants - such as Pseudomyrmex species - that live in the 1-inch spines. The Acacias are unable to produce their own alkaloids, a chemical arsenal produced by many plants to deter predators. The tree attracts stinging ants with food and a place to live that protect the trees from browsing herbivores and epiphytic vines. Was Acacia collensii.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Horn_Acacia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudomyrmex
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphyte
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