Trillium Trail
by Matt Molloy
Title
Trillium Trail
Artist
Matt Molloy
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
I love walking these trails when the trilliums are in bloom. It happens every year in spring. (it was early may this year) I often find them in large patches, but in this particular area, they always seem to take over the forest floor. After doing a little reading, I wonder if it's because there's lots of ants in this area.
"Large-flowered trillium has a fascinating seed dispersal mechanism - its seeds are dispersed by ants through a process called myrmecochory. Attached to the outside of the seeds is a fleshy structure called an elaiosome. The elaiosome is rich in oils and proteins. Ants carry the seed to their nest and feed the elaiosome to their larvae. The remaining seed is discarded in the ant's nutrient-rich waste pile. This symbiotic relationship benefits the ant, which gets a food source, and benefits the plant because the seed is dispersed, is protected from rodents, and is placed in a nutrient rich area in the ants nest where the seed has a greater likelihood of growing."
Uploaded
October 21st, 2016
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