2018 Oklahoma Native Plant Record


52 Oklahoma Native Plant Record 
 Volume 18, December 2018 
 

Paul Buck 
10.22488/okstate.19.100006 

Critic's Choice Essay 
 

MYRMECOCHORY  
 

Reprinted from Gaillardia, Fall 1999 
 

 
Paul Buck† 
Professor Emeritus 
Department of Biological Science 
University of Tulsa 
Tulsa, OK 74104 
 
 
 As I write, rain rattles against the window, 
driven by a cold northwest wind. The sky is 
overcast and the low, scudding clouds warn 
that winter is still here. 
 Not long ago an interesting word came to 
mind. Let me share it with you: myrmecochory. 
What a strange and unusual word. I know you 
wonder why it would pop into one's head.  
 It was early winter and I was sitting on the 
edge of the porch watching birds vigorously 
competing for the abundant seed in the feeder 
hanging from the bur oak. What dumb 
animals! If they had any brains they would 
know by now that the supply is unending. 
However, it was another of those special 
Oklahoma days. Clear, warm sunlight, a gentle 
breeze from the south, temperatures well 
above those of 24 hours earlier - you know 
what kind of day I mean. When one is not 
surprised to find dandelions flowering in the 
lawn. 
 The base of the corner pillar surrounding 
the porch does not sit tightly against the 
concrete deck. The small gap on one side has 
been accepted with the thought the resulting 
ventilation might help keep the wood dry. But 
on that day the base was enclosed with a 
bright green wreath of lush, young, spring-like 
vegetation, a veritable garden of foliage. 
Examination showed it was 100% Lamium 
amplexicaule, dead-nettle or henbit - whatever 
name you prefer, a common, beautiful, but 
oft-despised prolific lawn weed. Such a mass  

 
of young plants must have been the result of a 
large cache of seeds. The moment I saw that 
growth I thought "What a beautiful example 
of myrmecochory". The word means 
"dispersal by ants". Here the seeds of Lamium 
had been gathered by ants, laboriously 
transported through the grass of the lawn, 
across the drive, up the side of the house, 
across the porch, and into the hollow pillar. 
For what reason would ants go to all that 
trouble? The answer discloses an interesting 
story. 
 Myrmecochory comes from Greek, with 
myrmeco- meaning "ant" and -chore, "to 
spread". In this case in reference to seed 
dissemination by ants, one of many dispersal 
mechanisms ranging from autochory, 
dispersal by the plant itself, to zoochory, a 
variety of approaches utilizing animal agents. 
But there is more. One cannot help but 
wonder why ants go to the expense of 
gathering, transporting, and accumulating 
large quantities of seeds and then apparently 
abandoning them. What is in it for the ants? 
 At the next opportunity, gather some 
henbit seeds and examine them under low 
magnification, anywhere from 15 to 45 times. 
The small, brownish, hard, and apparently 
inedible seed is evident. Notice however, one 
end is capped by a mass of light-colored, 
fleshy tissue surrounding nearly half the seed. 
This lump is rich in nutritive compounds, 
primarily fats and proteins. These masses are 



Oklahoma Native Plant Record 53 
Volume 18, December 2018 
 

Paul Buck 

gathered and stored by animals as a future 
food source. As you know, botanists have a 
name for everything. This structure is called 
an elaiosome. 
 Let us not concern ourselves with what 
part of the plant produces this clump of food. 
That is another story. The fact is, ants collect 
henbit seeds and carry them to their nests 
where they gnaw off the elaiosomes for their 
food value. The problem the animals then 
face is what to do with the waste material, in 
this case, seeds. At my house they dumped 
their debris under the porch pillar, not far 
from the nest entrance, in a Lamium trash pile. 
It was there, under favorable conditions, the 
seeds germinated and produced that lush ring 
of vegetation. 
 Think a moment. Have you ever observed 
an ant hill surrounded by a ring of Viola 
(violet) seedlings? It is not an uncommon 
occurrence. If so, you have encountered the 
phenomenon of myrmecochory; that circle of 
young plants represents the colony dump. But 
wait. In the case of violets that is only half the 
story. In this genus myrmecochory serves as 
secondary seed dispersal. Primary dispersal is 
autochorous, with exploding fruits scattering 
seeds around the plant, frequently as far as a 
meter. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 For you doubting Thomases, let me make 
a suggestion. First locate some healthy Viola 
plants. Observe them until you locate 
maturing fruit and then, on a calm day, to 
eliminate wind as a factor, spread white paper 
around the plants (poster or butcher's paper 
will do) and record the distance you find the 
seeds from the parent plant. If you are 
fortunate (and observant) you will see seeds 
suddenly appear as they are thrown from the 
capsules (fruits). Use the opportunity to 
examine seeds under magnification. The 
elaiosomes are evident. 
 There are other Oklahoma wildflowers 
with either exploding fruit or elaiosomes on 
the seeds. Why do you suppose we call 
Impatiens, that common member of the 
Balsaminaceae, "Touch me not"? Also, take 
time to closely examine the seeds of Corydalis 
for external structures. 
 I hope these comments regarding the 
strange word myrmecochory will open some eyes 
to one of the unusual botanical phenomena 
taking place in our yards. But do not stop 
here. There are numerous other unique events 
and relationships to be discovered out there. 
Start looking for some. 
 
 
 
 

ONPS