Cornizuela (Acacia collinsii) (Vachellia collinsii)
Hacienda Guachipelin, Rincon de la Vieja, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Parque Nacional Rincon de la Vieja.
Vachellia is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, commonly known as thorn trees or acacias. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae. Its species were considered members of genus Acacia until 2009. Vachellia can be distinguished from other acacias by its capitate inflorescences and spinescent stipules.
The members of Vachellia are trees or shrubs, sometimes climbing, and are always armed. Younger plants, especially, are armed with spines which are modified stipules, situated near the leaf bases.
Vachellia collinsii (also known as Acacia collinsii) is native to Central America and parts of Africa. It grows in secondary succession in seasonally dry ecosystems in southern Central America, with preferences to Savannah-like climate.
Vachellia collinsii can grow up to 40 feet tall. The tree grows relatively straight with thorns generously distributed across the branches.
It exhibits a symbiotic relationship with several species of ant (Pseudomyrmex spinicola, Pseudomyrmex ferruginea). The ant-Vachellia system involving this species has been studied by ecologists like Daniel Janzen in Palo Verde National Park and Santa Rosa National Park, both in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. The ants chew holes in the tips of the hollow stipular thorns, known as domatia, so that they can enter, and create their colony inside. A single ant colony may span several V. collinsii trees. Medium sized herbivores are deterred by the thorns but the ants help protect the trees from attack by other smaller or larger animals such as caterpillars and elephants. When a predator brushes and shakes the plant’s thorns in an attempt to feed, the ants will become disturbed and run outside and release alarm pheromones to alert other ants. All ants that come in contact with the volatile become aggressive and attack the animal by biting and stinging.
Cornizuela (Acacia collinsii) (Vachellia collinsii)
Hacienda Guachipelin, Rincon de la Vieja, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Parque Nacional Rincon de la Vieja.
Vachellia is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, commonly known as thorn trees or acacias. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae. Its species were considered members of genus Acacia until 2009. Vachellia can be distinguished from other acacias by its capitate inflorescences and spinescent stipules.
The members of Vachellia are trees or shrubs, sometimes climbing, and are always armed. Younger plants, especially, are armed with spines which are modified stipules, situated near the leaf bases.
Vachellia collinsii (also known as Acacia collinsii) is native to Central America and parts of Africa. It grows in secondary succession in seasonally dry ecosystems in southern Central America, with preferences to Savannah-like climate.
Vachellia collinsii can grow up to 40 feet tall. The tree grows relatively straight with thorns generously distributed across the branches.
It exhibits a symbiotic relationship with several species of ant (Pseudomyrmex spinicola, Pseudomyrmex ferruginea). The ant-Vachellia system involving this species has been studied by ecologists like Daniel Janzen in Palo Verde National Park and Santa Rosa National Park, both in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. The ants chew holes in the tips of the hollow stipular thorns, known as domatia, so that they can enter, and create their colony inside. A single ant colony may span several V. collinsii trees. Medium sized herbivores are deterred by the thorns but the ants help protect the trees from attack by other smaller or larger animals such as caterpillars and elephants. When a predator brushes and shakes the plant’s thorns in an attempt to feed, the ants will become disturbed and run outside and release alarm pheromones to alert other ants. All ants that come in contact with the volatile become aggressive and attack the animal by biting and stinging.