Myrmecophyte
Plants that live in association with ants / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Myrmecophytes (/mərˈmɛkəfaɪt/; 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] These plants possess structural adaptations that provide ants with food and/or shelter. These specialized structures include domatia, food bodies, and extrafloral nectaries.[1] In exchange for food and shelter, ants aid the myrmecophyte in pollination, seed dispersal, gathering of essential nutrients, and/or defense.[1] Specifically, domatia adapted to ants may be called myrmecodomatia.[2]