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Glite Dictionary
elaiosome

elaiosome

1 9.9
A soft part on some seeds that attracts ants to carry them to their nest
  • noun
  • /ɪˈleɪəˌsoʊm/
  • Specialized
: elaiosoma
  • Once in the nest, the ants feed the elaiosomes to their ravenous larvae and throw the otherwise intact seeds into their garbage.
  • ants carry elaiosome
  • elaiosome-bearing seeds

Examples

  • Many woodland plants rely on their elaiosome to encourage ants to disperse their seeds.

  • Many plants produce elaiosomes to attract ants.

  • The elaiosome on the seed attracts ants, which carry it back to their nest.

  • Researchers studied how the size of the elaiosome affects the distance seeds are moved by ants.

  • An elaiosome attracts ants.

  • The ants seize the seeds with their mandibles, almost always by the elaiosomes, and carry them to their nest.

  • The ant's mandibles grasp a white structure that is part of the seed—an oily and edible appendage known as an elaiosome.

Surface Forms

elaiosome singular
elaiosomes plural

Etymology

Elaiosome comes from Greek parts elaio- 'oil' and -soma 'body', so it originally meant 'oil body'. So an elaiosome is the small, oily or fleshy part on a seed that attracts ants and helps the plant spread its seeds.