myrmecophytismn.
/məːˈmɛkəfʌɪˌtɪz(ə)m/, U.S. /ˈmərməkoʊˌfaɪˌdɪz(ə)m/; see also myrmeco- comb. form Botany.
Myrmecophily (in a plant); the condition of living in a symbiotic relationship with ants.
ΚΠ
1920 Science 4 June 564/2 Investigations upon: (1) Myrmecophytism; particularly certain supposed symbiotic relations between ants and higher plants.
1960 Ecology 41 590/1 Spininess and attractiveness to ants (and other aculetates), including true myrmecophytism, may be at least roughly geographically correlated, and we can therefore consider the possibility that they are adaptively related.
1994 Jrnl. Ecol. 82 234/1 Of the selective forces which have been suggested for the evolution of myrmecophytism in the species, the impact of herbivory is the most widely accepted.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1920