| Vitex thyrsiflora | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Vitex |
| Species: | V. thyrsiflora |
| Binomial name | |
| Vitex thyrsiflora Baker [2] | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Vitex thyrsiflora is a species of woody vine in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to tropical West and Central Africa. Its hollow stem is used as a home by an aggressive species of ant.
Although many species of Vitex are tall forest trees, Vitex thyrsiflora is a liana, climbing over other trees. It is recognisable by the opposite pairs of palmately compound leaves, with clusters of tiny, lipped, flowers in the leaf axils. [3]
Vitex thyrsiflora grows in the rain forests of tropical West and Central Africa, its range extending from Guinea and Ivory Coast, through Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon to the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [1]
Vitex thyrsiflora has hollow twigs and branches and ants use these as their domatia (specialised chambers adapted for habitation by ants). In young lianas, several species of ant compete for the use of these domatia, but in older individuals, the aggressive ant Tetraponera tessmanni establishes dominance over the other species and is the only ant occupant. Apart from patrolling the liana's leaves and attacking herbivorous insects that land on them, all the ants' activities take place in the interior of the liana. [4]
An extract of the leaves of Vitex thyrsiflora have been used in traditional medicine in the treatment of orchitis, infertility, parasitic infections and stomach pains. Research shows that an ethanol extract contains alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, and glycosides, and has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic effects. [5]
In 2016, a dichloromethane extract from the bark of the trunk was reported to show antiplasmodial activity in vitro. [6]
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the conservation status of this liana as being of "least concern". This is on the basis that it has a wide range and a large population, and faces no particular threats. [1]
Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide. They are dicotyledons, and occur mainly in warm temperate and tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America. Many are aromatic evergreen trees or shrubs, but some, such as Sassafras, are deciduous, or include both deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, especially in tropical and temperate climates. The genus Cassytha is unique in the Lauraceae in that its members are parasitic vines. Most laurels are highly poisonous.
Vitex agnus-castus is a plant native of the Mediterranean region. It is one of the few temperate-zone species of Vitex, which is on the whole a genus of tropical and subtropical flowering plants. Theophrastus mentioned the shrub several times, as agnos (άγνος) in Enquiry into Plants. It has been long believed to be an anaphrodisiac – leading to its name as "chaste tree" – but its effectiveness for such action remains unproven.
Brachystegia is a genus of tree of the subfamily Detarioideae that is native to tropical Africa.
Myrmecophytes are plants that live in a mutualistic association with a colony of ants. There are over 100 different genera of myrmecophytes. These plants possess structural adaptations that provide ants with food and/or shelter. These specialized structures include domatia, food bodies, and extrafloral nectaries. In exchange for food and shelter, ants aid the myrmecophyte in pollination, seed dispersal, gathering of essential nutrients, and/or defense. Specifically, domatia adapted to ants may be called myrmecodomatia.
Vachellia collinsii, previously Acacia collinsii, is a species of flowering plant native to Central America and parts of Africa.
Ancistrocladus is a genus of woody lianas in the monotypic family Ancistrocladaceae. The branches climb by twining other stems or by scrambling with hooked tips. They are found in the tropics of the Old World.
Vitex is a genus of flowering plants in the sage family Lamiaceae. It has about 250 species. Common names include chaste tree or chastetree, traditionally referring to V. agnus-castus, but often applied to other species, as well.
Vachellia drepanolobium, more commonly known as Acacia drepanolobium or whistling thorn, is a swollen-thorn acacia native to East Africa. The whistling thorn grows up to 6 meters tall. It produces a pair of straight spines at each node, some of which have large bulbous bases. These swollen spines are naturally hollow and occupied by any one of several symbiotic ant species. The common name of the plant is derived from the observation that when wind blows over bulbous spines in which ants have made entry and exit holes, they produce a whistling noise.
A domatium is a tiny chamber that houses arthropods, produced by a plant.
The Gabon bushbaby is a species of primate in the family Galagidae found in Cameroon, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo. Its head and body length is 8.5 in with a 10-in tail, and it weighs about 10 oz. It lives in evergreen tropical rainforests and eats primarily fallen fruit, but also some arthropods.
Anogeissus leiocarpa is a tall deciduous tree native to the savannas of tropical Africa.
Tetraponera is a genus of ants in the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae that are commonly known as slender ants and are characterized by their arboreal nature and slender bodies. The 96 described species of Tetraponera all of which live in hollow structures of plants and trees, such as thorns or branches; these hosts are known as myrmecophytes. Tetraponera species are closely related to the New World genus of ants Pseudomyrmex, but differ in their relationships with host plants.
Margaritaria discoidea is a tree in the family Phyllanthaceae, commonly known as the pheasant-berry, egossa red pear or bushveld peacock-berry. These trees are native to the warmer, higher rainfall areas of Africa.
Thonningia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Balanophoraceae containing the single species Thonningia sanguinea. It is distributed throughout much of southern and western Africa, particularly the tropical regions. Common names for the plant include ground pineapple. A familiar plant to humans, it has an extremely long list of common names in many African languages. Many names are inspired by the resemblance of the plant's inflorescence to a pineapple or palm tree. Some of the names can be translated as pineapple of the bush, duiker's kolanut, and crown of the ground.
Azteca alfari is a species of ant in the genus Azteca. Described by Carlo Emery in 1893, the species is widespread in Mexico, Central and South America. This ant has a mutualistic relationship with a Cecropia tree. The specific name alfari honours a Costa Rican zoologist Anastasio Alfaro.
Heinsia crinita is a species of perennial shrub or small tree in the family, Rubiaceae. It is native to tropical areas of Africa.
Tetraponera penzigi, is a species of ant of the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae, which can be found in East Africa. It forms an obligate symbiosis with the whistling thorn acacia, a dominant tree in some upland areas of East Africa.
Barteria fistulosa is a species of tree in the family Passifloraceae, native to tropical Central Africa. The tree has an association with an aggressive species of ant with a very painful sting, which lives in its hollow branches and twigs, and gives rise to its common name of "ant tree".
Tetraponera tessmanni is a species of ant in the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae, which is native to tropical Central Africa, where it inhabits the hollow stems of the liana Vitex thyrsiflora.
Tetraponera aethiops is a species of ant in the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae, which is native to tropical Africa. It is found living in the forest in association with Barteria fistulosa, a small tree.
