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Science 21 June 1974:
Vol. 184. no. 4143, pp. 1290 - 1292
DOI: 10.1126/science.184.4143.1290
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Articles

Pollination by Ants: A Low-Energy System

James C. Hickman 1

1 Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081

Polygonum cascadense, a small, apparently self-incompatible, annual plant, is regularly cross-pollinated by the ant Formica argentea. Comparison of other purported ant-pollinated plants with traits favoring such pollination suggests that some, but not all, may be ant pollinated. Ant-pollination interactions are characterized by low expenditure of energy by both ant and plant.


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Ann. Bot. 103, 1065-1075
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Floral biology and unique pollination system of root holoparasites, Balanophora kuroiwai and B. tobiracola (Balanophoraceae).
A. Kawakita and M. Kato (2002)
Am. J. Botany 89, 1164-1170
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