Myrmecochory in the Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens L.)

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Abstract
Myrmecochory, the dispersal of seeds by ants, was reported for a variety of woodland herbs from the eastern deciduous forest. Observations of fruiting specimens of E. repens indicate seeds of this species are also ant dispersed. The seeds have no elaiosomes; they are embedded in the sweet, jelly-like placental tissue that fills the fruit. Seeds are dispersed as ants carry away the placental tissue. The trailing arbutus differs from previously reported eastern woodland myrmecochores in that it is woody and it is a member of the Ericaceae, a family from which myrmecochory has not been previously reported.