While it seems counterintuitive to think of degradation within an operating device as
beneficial, one may argue that when rationally designed, the controlled breakdown of …

Milk thistle, Silybum marianum (L.), is a well-known medicinal plant used for the treatment of
liver diseases due to its high content of silymarin. The seeds contain elaiosome, a fleshy …

Ants, which are members of the Formicidae family, have been the subject of considerable
scientific scrutiny due to their remarkable diversity and ecological importance. Extensive …

Necklace orchids (Coelogyninae, Epidendroideae) have been used in traditional medicine
practices for centuries. Previous studies on a subset of unrelated orchid species utilized in …

Many studies have focused on the cardinal temperatures and thermal time requirements of
seed germination, but how seed size and color affect germination rate and thermal …

Seed dispersal by ants is common in arid lands. The seeds of myrmecochorous plants bears
an elaiosome, an appendage that acts as a reward for ants. Once an ant identifies an …

1. Harvester ants are major seed predators in arid environments. However, given that many
harvester ants are partly omnivorous and therefore potentially attracted to the elaiosomes of …

Myrmecochory—seed dispersal by ants—is a mutualistic interaction in which ants attracted
by seed appendices take them away from the parental plant location, where seeds usually …

Thousands of plants produce both extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) on their leaves and nutrient‐
rich appendages on their diaspores (elaiosomes). Although their individual ecology is well …

Food-for-dispersal mutualisms are critical sources of energy flow in ecological networks. By
providing a nutrient-rich reward in the form of a fruit or seed to an animal mutualist, plants …