Jaws of Life

Abstract

Thousands of species of plants have evolved seeds which attract ants to bury them in their underground homes. The fact that so many disparate lineages of plants have evolved a similar "invention", so called convergent evolution, highlights the trait's evolutionary value. The advantage to the plants is clear, but the question is why the ants engage in this behavior. The answer is that theants are being tricked into gardening. Plants, such as Trilliums, have evolved seeds with a small, fatty appendage, known as the elaiosome. The elaisome iswhat attracts ants to the seeds, once the ants have eaten the elaisome the rest of the seed is disgarded into their "garbage", where with luck they will germinate.