SAPROPHYTISM AND SYMBIOSIS 327 



Acacia), secrete a substance which is greatly liked by 

 another kind of ants, a smaller, war-like species. These 

 ants, attracted by the much-prized food, make their home 

 on the tree or in special cavities in it, and repel all at- 

 tempts of the leaf-cutting species to reach the foliage. 



Fig. 234.— Epiphytic group of bromeliads and orchids on a tree, in Cuba 

 (Photo by M. T. Cook.) 



Such trees are called ant-loving (myrmecophilous), or 

 myrmecophytes. 



307. Epiphytism.— Any plant (whether parasite or not) 

 that lives on another, or upon any other convenient 

 support (Fig. 233), is an epiphyte, but the term is com- 



