posted and emailed
In article <19980306142501.JAA15104 at ladder03.news.aol.com>,
billybo278 at aol.com wrote..
>>Hi out there,
>I need help finding a plant name for my grandson. Somebody in a campground
in
>FL gave me a thorn from something, it looks like a horn for a cow. It's
about
>3" spread and about the same color and is attached to a small twig. I sent
it
>to my 11 year old grandson in NY and later he took it to school and his
teacher
>told him that if he could find out what plant it came from he would get
extra
>points in class for the info. We would appreciate any info you could give
us.
>Grandfather's "E" Mail: billybo278 Grandson's "E" Mail: tms3b at juno.com>Thanks for the help in this matter.
>Bill
The first thing that comes to mind are the swollen stipular "thorns" of some
species of _Acacia_ of tropical America. [Bull-horn acacias, or ant-acacias]
Was it actually collected in Florida, or did it come from elsewhere? [I don't
think any are native to Florida, but relatives with less inflated spines may
be]. The tropical swollen-thorn Acacias are noteworthy in that they show an
especially close symbiosis between plants and ants: the paired thorns are
hollow and the ants make a small hole near one end of each pair and live
inside them [does yours have such an opening?]. The plants provide nectar
and special food bodies for the ants, and the ants actively defend the trees
against encroaching plants, herbivorous insects, and will sting even large
animals that disturb the plants.
cheers
