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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



florie ' or ' caulanthy/ the terms meaning ' flower on the stem.' Caul- 

 anthy may often be seen in the tropics, while among trees of temperate 

 regions it is almost unknown. 



Plants inhabited by ants are sure to strike the attention of visitors. 

 There are many of these so-called i myrmecophilous ' plants in the 

 garden at Buitenzorg; some brought in from the neighborhood, while 

 others, behaving like Topsy/ ' just growed.' The commonest are spe- 

 cies of Myrmccodia, woody plants about two feet tall, with the base of 

 the stem much swollen and containing large winding passages swarm- 

 ing with ants. These plants do not grow on the ground, but are at- 



Waringin Tkke, Batavia. 



tached to the branch of some tree, a habit of life very common in moist 

 climates. A handsome tree known as Humboldtia is also myrmeco- 

 philous. The flowering twigs are swollen and hollow — the cavity open- 

 ing to the outer world by a small hole through which ants enter. 

 Apparently in these various cases the ants do not serve the plants in 

 any way. There are, however, certain species of Acacia, which pro- 

 duce a sweet substance attractive to a certain kind of warlike ants, and 

 these ants protect the tree from the attacks of the leaf-cutting ants. 

 Other kinds of Acacia, not provided with ant police, are often seriously 

 damaged by the leaf-cutters. 



In our school geographies we have all read about the wonderful 

 banyan tree which sends down roots from its outspread branches and 



