#Myrmecochory

[rcannon992]

Elaiosomes: tasty treats for hard-working ants

Ants have a close association with red and white dead nettles (Lamium purpureum and L. album) and carry off the seeds to their nests, where they feed the smooth folded, nutritious attachment (elaiosome) to their developing larvae. The seed itself is not consumed, and is either left in the nest or dispersed a short distance, e.g. to a pile or midden outside the nest. Lamium album, white…

[fuzzkaizer]

"Phasmids, sometimes known as stick bugs, exhibit remarkable camouflage that extends even to their eggs. These eggs beautifully mimic seeds or plant debris to evade predators before hatching. This mimicry involves structures called capitula, which attract ants. The ants transport these eggs to their nests, burying them and providing protection from environmental threats and parasitic wasps. This sophisticated adaptation, known as myrmecochory, exemplifies convergent evolution, where unrelated species develop similar traits to enhance survival. Such intricate evolutionary strategies ensure that phasmid eggs remain hidden and safe until they hatch, emphasizing the almost unbelievable ingenuity of natural selection in the insect world.

cred: instagram.com/delphi.vc, Levon Biss

[jfs-worldbuilding-and-art]

Specposium's Spectember day 9: Coevolution

Coevolution is when two or more species influence the evolution and behavior of each other, it is commonly seen in plants and animals, principally invertebrates. In some cases the survival of one, or both species is only possible by the presence of the other.

Here we have another sketch that will be later turned into a full piece. Depicted is a fire ant species carrying a passion fruit seed back to its nest, in the background the mother tree and fruit in the ground, ants swarm the fruit so to collect the "liquid" inside the passion fruit plus the seeds, who have an elaiosome, a structure common to plants who employ myrmecochory.

Myrmecochory is when plants have a seed that is meant to be collected by ants, who bring it to their nest. The ants eat the elaiosome and discard the seed, who, protected from predators inside the nests' disposal, will grow. This strategy is often found in plants in arid or semi-arid conditions but here in the East side of Batrachia(who is mostly of rainforest) this species of tree-like passion fruit uses myrmecochory as an advantage over the tropical pine trees who grow everywhere but are slowly losing ground to the more hot and wet-adapted passion fruits.

[botanyone]

Burning Desire Leads to Delayed Gratification for the Natal Crocus

Burning Desire Leads to Delayed Gratification for the Natal Crocus https://ift.tt/KkqaNs6 In South Africa, Klepiel & Johnson have found that the Natal Crocus, Apodolirion buchananii, has combined a strange combination of rapid reaction and slow growth in its reproductive cycle. They observed the plant blooming right after grassland fires in winter, yet the fruits grow underground, taking over half a year to mature. The combination of fast and slow allows the plant to take advantage of the best conditions in both phases of its reproduction. While Apodolirion buchananii isn’t an actual Crocus, the authors say it gets its common name Natal Crocus because, like a crocus, the plant flowers before it produces its leaves. After a fire, the plants produce sweet-smelling flowers that range from white to light-pink and emerge just a few centimetres above the soil. The main scent of the flowers comes phenylacetaldehyde, a chemical that attracts many species of bees. Attracting pollinators is critical, as the plant cannot self-pollinate. Without pollinators, there is no next generation. After successful pollination, the developing fruit stays hidden underground for 30 weeks while it matures. The ripe fruits finally push up through the soil during the peak of summer rains. Once the fruit splits open, over six months of preparation turns into a frenzy. Ants enter, and examine each seed carefully with their antennae before picking it up and carrying it to their nest. This is rapid work. Within 24 hours of the fruit opening, ants typically remove all the seeds. Rapid action is necessary, because the seeds germinate fast, usually within just a few days. By getting carried by the ants, the seeds ensure they get buried in favourable conditions. What is puzzling is why the ants do this. Klepiel & Johnson note the seeds do look a bit like the ant larvae of Myrmicaria natalensis. When ant nests are disturbed, worker ants have been seen carrying both seeds and their own larvae to safety. It seems that, at least for a short while, the seeds are easily confused with larvae. Kiepiel, I., & Johnson, S. D. (2024). Scent‐mediated bee pollination and myrmecochory in an enigmatic geophyte with pyrogenic flowering and subterranean development of fleshy fruits. American Journal of Botany. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16421 (OA) Cross-posted to Bluesky, Mastodon & Threads. The post Burning Desire Leads to Delayed Gratification for the Natal Crocus appeared first on Botany One. via Botany One https://botany.one/ November 01, 2024 at 08:30PM

[peteroo]

22.April.24

Mathilda heard murmurs whilst she was noshing her cantaloupe rind behind the rubbish bin. In her crevice, Terri caused a chaotic cacophony when she realized the rumours were, indeed, true. It so happened that ants had permanently migrated to the neighbourhood’s pants, which had all recently had their fiery fibers extinguished by perspiring personalities. Unsurprisingly, with myrmecochory on…

[deesmenagerie]

About Bloodroot

A pretty little flower with a grisly (yet accurate) name.

Bloodroot is another local cutie, native to Eastern North America from Nova Scotia down to Florida. You'll find her in the woods, forming little colonies that bloom together in the spring (March to May, depending on where you find her). Each flower has only one leaf, which fully unfurls after the plant has finished blooming.

A freshly-sprouting colony of bloodroots on the forest floor

Bloodroot leaves completely unfurled after blooming

I always thought the leaf looked like a dramatic little cape on a flamboyant little vampire, which is appropriate considering the name.

Recently, my friends bought a house with a GORGEOUS colony of bloodroot carpeting their backyard. I asked if I could dig one up to see the root, and BOY WAS IT COOL!

!!!

The red color comes from sanguinarine, an alkaloid compound that is produced by the plant and concentrated in the rhizome and root system. This alkaloid is highly toxic, killing skin cells on contact. For this reason, salves containing sanguinarine have been used as a home remedy for a wide variety of skin ailments, from benign skin tags to serious conditions like skin cancer.

Not only are these salves completely ineffective at curing skin ailments, but they make things WAY worse by causing the formation of an eschar, otherwise known as a big ol' gross patch of necrotic (dead) tissue (I don't recommend looking that up). This can lead to permanent disfigurement, infections, and cancer progression. Yikes!

Other fun facts about bloodroot:

Sanguinarine has been studied as a potential anti-cancer therapeutic, but as of right now the side effects outweigh any possible benefits

Flowers open in sunlight and close at night

Their seeds are spread by ants, a phenomenon called myrmecochory. Each seed has a fleshy, lipid, and protein-rich structure attached to it. It's called an elaiosome, and it's a food source for the ants.

Want to see a bloody babe this spring? She's an early bloomer, popping out of the recently thawed ground around mid-March and continuing through mid-April. You'll have the best luck if you find some deciduous woodlands on a floodplain- she likes shade and wet(ish) feet.

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanguinaria

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/do-not-use-black-salve-dangerous-and-called-many-names

[unbelievable-ecological-articles]

PRIMROSE, FERUARY

I’m back with another species of flower that I couldn’t identify before! This one is the simple primrose (Primula vulgaris), which I spotted walking through the woodland just behind the Sainsbury centre on the way to the river.

The binomial nomenclature (scientific) name for this species comes from the Latin primus (prime), which alludes to the flowers early-spring appearance, and the Latin vulgaris (common) due to the flowers widespread distribution. The specific flower I saw was the subspecies balearica, which is identified by white flowers instead of the pink or yellow of other subspecies, and the leaf stem being longer than the leaf blade.

Primrose is a perennial species, meaning they live for more than two years (unlike annual or biennial species), that grow between 10 to 30 cps tall, and are formed of a basal rosette of mostly-evergreen leaves. As I mentioned before, primroses are widespread across Britain and Ireland, and are a common sight in woods, hedgerows and grasslands. The can bloom as early as late December and will flower until May. The flowers are visited by a wide variety of insects, including butterflies, beetles and flies. The most commonly known visitor is a small beetle of the Meligethes genus, with often 12 or more pollen-covered beetles in a single flower. They can fly and are theoretically well suited as pollinators. One known major pollinator is the bumblebee. The seeds of the plant are spread by myrmecochory, which means spread by ants!

One of the main enemies of the primrose is the vine weevil. This pest lives in the soil during its juvenile phase. The grub looks like a curved grain of rice with a brown head, and likes to eat the roots of the primula. Another pest, and the main culprit to many of the UK’s plants, are root aphids. Other animals that eat the foliage and flowers include slugs, mice and birds. For some reason, birds seem to favour the yellow ones, maybe due to taste or because of the insects that they attract. To humans, both the flower and the leaves are edible, tasting between mild lettuce and bitter greens, which can be cooked in soups. The ones I saw had definitely been dinner to something, but still brightened up the green weeds - and for some reason I left my photo until the end of this post to finish with a bit of natural beauty:

[awkwardbotany]

The Hidden Flowers of Viola

The Hidden Flowers of Viola

Violas keep a secret hidden below their foliage. Sometimes they even bury it shallowly in the soil near their roots. I suppose it’s not a secret really, just something out of sight. There isn’t a reason to show it off, after all. Showy flowers are showy for the sole purpose of attracting pollinators. If pollinators are unnecessary, there is no reason for showy flowers, or to even show your…

[seedkeeping]

Bloodroot is an ephemeral Spring plant in eastern North America - it blooms briefly, leafs briefly, and is dormant for most of the year. It grows perennially in slowly expanding colonies connected by a reddish rhizome that oozes orange sap traditionally used medicinally and as a dye. Bloodroot is also spread by ants who bring its seeds into their nests where they feed the attached fleshy, oily bits (called elaiosomes) to their larvae and leave the seeds to sprout in the fertile debris of their abode. We didn’t have a very harsh winter, but across the world we are now moving indoors or at least away from other people, stockpiling foods and toilet paper. Let’s imagine we were ants: after all the anxious consumption of the coming weeks and months, what will be the seeds that we leave behind that will feed us in the future? What are we sowing as we hibernate in these nests? I was just swallowing a chopped up clove of garlic meditating on my gratitude to this plant for its healing properties, and gratitude that we had the foresight, knowledge, health, and land on which to plant garlic patches in our backyard and at our farms, and gratitude that the plants are now sprouting and building future medicine from eating sunlight and soil. Some figurative seeds I’m planting now are: revising my farm plans to include even larger medicine crops than usual, like calendula, skullcap, elecampane, mullein; planning to harvest extra wild nettles this year (without taking more than our share); taking and rooting cuttings of the elder trees in my life (some of which come from cuttings I did a decade ago in a park in Brooklyn) and teaching others to do the same; and putting up even more of our crops - canning San Marzano tomatoes, dehydrating more peppers, okra, mushrooms, freezing more molokhia, kale, collards, callaloo. I’m excited to help others to learn these things too, and to provide literal seeds for so many of these things. Again: after all the anxious consumption of the coming weeks and months, what will be the seeds that we leave behind that will feed us in the future? What are we sowing as we hibernate in these nests? #symbiotic #myrmecochory #seeddispersal #bloodroot https://www.instagram.com/p/B9spVqVgqXQ/?igshid=xjcjrgryec04

[parasitoidism]

What’s a myrmecologist Matteo is it just a guy who studies ants. I don’t want to google it I want to hear it from you

Yes myrmecology is the study of ants! It comes from the greek word for ant which is myrmex. That prefix also shows up when describing other animals relationships to ants too bc they’re so complex (and well studied). For example myrmecophagy is specially eating ants (the giant anteater’s scientific name is Myrmecophaga tridactyla) a myrmecophile is any organism that has a close relationship with ants (like aphids), and myrmecochory is seed dispersal by ants. What a fun prefix

[chicagobotanicgarden]

The Secrets of Spring Ephemerals in the Woods

Beautiful and brief: the magical lives of spring ephemerals.

“The wonder of the world, the beauty and the power, the shapes of things, their colours, lights and shades—these I saw. Look ye also while life lasts.” —Anonymous lines found on an old tombstone in Cumberland, England “While life lasts.” This can be a very brief moment in time for a spring ephemeral. In that narrow window that exists between thawing ground and the leafing out of the tree canopy,…

[botanytoo]

Museomics reveal phylogeny of endangered Malagasy grasses

Museomics reveal phylogeny of endangered Malagasy grasses

Poaceae is one of the most diverse families in Madagascar, but some lineages have not yet been assessed within a phylogenetic framework. This study focused on the threatened taxa of Chasechloa, historically associated with the South American forest grasses of the genus Echinolaena. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the upper floret of Chasechloa madagascariensis (Vorontsova et al.…

[juniperpublisherscasestudies]

Juniper Publishers-Open Access Journal of Case Studies

Predisposing Factors for Murosere

Authored by Anil K Dwivedi

Abstract

Murophytes is a novel hybrid term, the original terms “mural” stands for wall and the term “phytes” stands for the plants of the flora. Therefore, the term murophytes means the plants growing over the walls or buildings. The term Murosere stands for the development of different stages of plants growing over the buildings. The paper deals with the study of site and colonization mode of plants on the wall of historical buildings, monuments, houses, civil engineering structure and drainage pipes etc. The biophysical weathering of building as well as that of many monuments is a problem identified since antiquity. The study deal with the various species of genus Ficus found growing over the buildings and playing very dominant role in damaging the buildings. The three Ficus species, Ficusreligiosa, Ficusbenghalensis and Ficusglomerata are mostly growing over the buildings. These three Ficus species are mostly responsible for uprooting of plasters, widening of gap or cracks and crevices and deterioration of upper surface of building and causing considerable and visible damage of the buildings. Seeds of Ficus species are produced by method of dispersal or by physical and biological agents. In the present paper the Ficus species with reference to some preventive action to controls the damage of heritage buildings has been discussed.

Keywords: Murophyte; Murosere; Monuments; Ficus; Plants

Introduction

Architecture can be described as the sum of the social economic political and cultural developments. The places people live in also live for years. The representative of architectural heritage each has its own architectural historical and cultural message have undertaken a social duty to give cultural message to their environment and future generation. Architecture taking place at the intersection zone of technique and art is the physical and permanent sign of social and economic life cultural and national structural cultural [1]. The historical monuments sustained from past to present have worn out to various effects and disappeared in short periods due to lack of care. The deteriorations on the construction materials have occurred not only because of the year but also mostly due to the environment and the other is material of construction. The buildings are unfavorably affected from changing natural environment and climate conditions [2]. Climate can be defined as the whole atmospheric events such as rain fall, temperature, wind, pressure and humidity that cause certain damages on the monumental buildings for years.

Plant can live in aquatic, terrestrial and organic environments. Their growth influenced by many parameters. There are habitats in which the extreme condition leads to the selection of species with morphological and physiological adaptation enabling them to survive. Walls constitute a specialized microhabitat; since they are built by man, they are restricted to inhibited areas. Murophytes developed in historical periods in which civilized man constructed buildings .The oldest wall or those most characteristically covered in vegetation. In general it is possible to distinguish stone which is an integral part of inhibited building, stonework on the ground (part of old fortifications, roads, etc.) and isolated walls The term Murosere stands for the development of different stages of plants growing over the buildings. The best habitats are provided by retaining walls; through the cracks the earth supplies moisture, particles of soil and nutrients. Hence the factors promoting the colonization of a wall by murophytes are its edaphic preferences, the quantity of seeds produced and the method of dispersal [3].

The following predominating factors are responsible for growth and developments of murophytes:

Availability of water

Exposure

Light

Substrate

Nutrients

Shady place

Birds excitements

Type of building structure

Edaphic Preferences

Specie and environment dependent:

Volume of substrate available

Type of substrate

Exposure

Moisture requirements for germination and reproduction

Dispersal Methods

In order of decreasing advantage:

Anemochory due to lightness of seeds

Anemochory due to special structures (pappi, wings, etc.)

Myrmecochory

Zoochory

Other dispersal mechanism (Figure 1 & 2)

Water

Water is an impartment factor to growth and development of murophyte. Naturally the availability of water varies with the type of surface and its exposure. It is one of the essential conditions for the establishment and maintenance of vegetation (Figure 3).

Exposure

The exposure of the wall is important above all in relation to the main direction of the rain. Arid wall exposed to the sun for many hours of the day determine strict selection of the murophytes. Southern exposures absorb more solar radiation than northern exposures. In mountain communities, northern exposures will have shorter growing seasons [4]. In mountain communities gardeners often place warm season plants, like tomatoes, on the south side of buildings to capture more heat (Figure 4).

Light

Light is the essential for photosynthesis a process by which plants manufacturer their food. Therefore the quality duration and intensity of light available to the plants is of most important in their growth on monuments or buildings. The growth of murophytes is limited in condition of low light (Figure 5).

Substrate

This is one of the key factors for evaluating the adaptability of plant is certain situations. The formation of substrate does not regard only the manner in which the wall is built but also biotic (decomposition by microorganism) and abiotic (climatic agents and atmospheric pollution) factors [5]. These factors contribute to the crumbling of lime mortor, leading to the formation of fissures and cavities within the walls. Substrate rich in detritus can form in these spaces with the auxiliary of atmospheric dust, bird excrement, human wastes, bryophytes, lichens, bacteria and fungi normally present in soil. Moss often creates the environment necessary for the germination of seeds in some cases the relations between tracheophytes and bryophytes are regulated by inhibitory allelophathic mechanisms. In fact substances which inhibit seed germination and root growth of higher plant have been isolated bryophytes. e.g., Lunaric acid from Lunularia Cruciata (L). In other cases the moss gametophyte constituting on absorbent surface, collects dust and other material. The resulting substrate of organic and inorganic residues can host the germination of seeds. Plants surviving in such environments often have reduced vegetative and reproductive parts; since the mural habitat does not permit them to develop to normal size. Places facilitating the rooting of plants of this type may be protruding shelves or irregular surfaces which provide space for the build-up detritus or soil [6]. The amount of substrate needed for Seed germination varies from specie to species. Shrub and tree (chamaephytes, phanerophytes) require more substrate and therefore prefer to grow along earth- fill walls offering a substantial amount of soil (Figure 6).

Nutrients

The availability and type of nutrients present in the substrate also play an important role in the growth of plant. Nutrients can be either organic or inorganic in nature [7]. The organic nutrients may be either an impurity in the substrate or decomposition product of other microorganism. The inorganic nutrients are usually the mineral constituents of the substrates (Figure 7).

Bird’s Excretion

Seeds of murophytes like Ficus species migrate their primary sources (mother trees) in the nearby vicinity to the buildings via by biological victors (birds and mammals), their role was confirmed in dispersal of plants seeds through scatological studied. Birds and animals occupy these places for shelter, nesting, feeding, wintering, roosting etc. They enjoy eating plants fruits and consequently disperse seeds through their scat and droppings. Many animals dispose off their dropping on walls of the buildings. The rain washes the droppings and seeds are further dispersed. The plants seed are light in weight, hence easily shifted by flow of runoff and occupy appropriate germination sites (Figure 8).

Building Structure

The architecture of old buildings and the magnificent carvings for beautification provides more anchoring points for the settlement of seeds. Horizontal and vertical folds and joints in the carvings act as a capillary and facilitate the seed to settle with the movement of water [8]. The uprooted or damaged plaster of a wall provides favorable sites for germination of murophytes [9]. Walls have many primary seed traps, where the seeds are initially captured in building. After the growth of the plants, walls are further damaged and they provide secondary and tertiary seeds traps too. This will result in the successive damage of buildings and make them more vulnerable [10] (Figure 9).

Conclusion

These predominating factors which are involved in the deterioration have occurred not only because of the age of the structure but also mostly due to the environmental conditions and factors. Climate can be defined as the certain atmospheric events such as rainfall, temperature, wind, pressure and humidity that cause certain damages on the bridge, house, concrete buildings, monumental buildings etc., in the course of time.

The most important factor related to the deterioration encountered on the monumental and building structure and to growth and development of murophytes is the “humidity” factor. In general water and moisture act on structures as “rising from soil”, “condensing” and “rainwater”.

For more Open Access Journals in Juniper Publishers please click on: https://juniperpublishers.business.site/ For more articles in Open Access Journal of Case Studies please click on: https://juniperpublishers.com/jojcs/ To know more about Open Access Journals Publishers To read more…Fulltext please click on:  https://juniperpublishers.com/jojcs/JOJCS.MS.ID.555580.php

[danielpasquinucci]

Impressionable by sudden gusts of strong wind, a fickle seed flew up and away from its mother and found a new home implanted on the highest branch of a 10 foot diameter tree. In the canopy of the forest, the erupting air currents were constant and the seed’s new home was a whirlwind of soil and skyjacked insects. If it wanted to blossom, it’s roots must be unwaveringly wide and labyrinthine. In the soft blades of a spore-ascended patch it plopped and exploded from the moisture sprouting stubborn roots through the moss—the outer bark too hard to pierce, its roots grow like the shadow of a building: thinly shallow, but vastly encompassing. The seedling grows. An epiphyte, leafy and scrambling shrubby stems through the moss busy branches, awakened millions of years ago. Beautiful, but bulky; the epiphyte modifies its leaves like a sailboat in a typhoon. Leaves rolled up into spines, the plant is much more aerodynamic in the wind and the tiny spears repel the neighboring nest of robins. The ants, however, enjoy frequent passing through the channeling spines like street lights and have acquired the taste for its nutrient rich elaiosome: the shell of the pseudo-flower’s seed which contain ample lipids and amino acids. The seed is an attractive bounty for foraging worker ants to carry back to the colony. Therefore, by myrmecochory, the elaiosome is consumed underground and torn apart by the ants mandibles. Buried naked in the anthill, a new seedling sprouts and awakens far from the tree.

Under the brush, light was yielding as the Sun dropped soft rays through the forest canopy—just enough to be caught by chlorophyll. However, on the plains, the seedling lay exposed to unrelenting radiance. Through transpiration, pores open and close allowing carbon dioxide to enter; but at the cost of its water. Too much water is lost under the sun, therefore, the vagabond plant learns to breathe at night and it’s spines grow longer and dense to shadow the plant. It becomes nocturnal and stores the carbon dioxide for daytime photosynthesis. A shift of tectonic plates crash and mountains divide the ecosystem; the forest fruits to the windward, and the dry plains on the leeward. As the wind blows high into the mountain’s windward peak, the atmosphere cools the air and forces its travelling moisture to precipitate; the forest grows dense with ceaseless rain. Contrary, the vagabond plant, prickly and nocturnal, now finds itself on the leeward side of the mountain receiving hardly any rain at all. Wilted and shrunk, the sun’s heat folds the plant over its flimsy stem. It’s been many a days since one lonely cloud made it out of the rainforest—the desert is arid and devastatingly hot, but suddenly black clouds make it over the mountain and pour rain down the leeward. A river flows down the mountain side and washes over the plant. During this brief baptism, the plant awakens in a surplus of hydration. It sucks up all the water it can and then more! Its stem grows FAT and fleshy with water hoarding for inevitable scarce times to come. Cacti is born.

A bandito with a gold tooth finds the cacti sprouted all along the red canyons. Its spines are perfectly pink, and the bandito finds them in huge clusters. He finds cacti growing in the cracks of rocks. Cacti a meter high, clusters 10 feet wide. He finds tiny, tiny, tiny, cacti just a few centimeters tall. The bandito steps on a cacti and gets a spine in his foot. The bandito pisses on a cacti and also piddles a bit on his boot.

[seedkeeping]

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is a spring ephemeral, meaning it shows up early before the forest canopy fills in, lures the bees to a couple days of pollen (but no nectar!), photosynthesizes a year's worth of energy, and disappears by summer. The seeds are coated with oily flesh that is delicious to ants who carry them into their nests, helping this plant to quickly form colonies in a forest. Basically, this plant really knows how to delegate its reproduction to the insect world, gets it done early, and spends the rest of the year sleeping underground. (Info from Dave's Garden - read more there). #davesgarden #myrmecochory #sanguinariacanadensis #bloodroot #springephemeral #poisonousplants #medicineplants #dyeplants (at Newtown Square, Pennsylvania)