Extrafloral nectary
A nectar gland outside the flower — usually on leaves or stems, and usually there to hire ants.
Definition
Extrafloral nectaries evolved to recruit ants as bodyguards against herbivores, and have nothing to do with pollination. Bees exploit them opportunistically, and in two cases at commercial scale: cotton carries them on leaves and bracts, and rubber trees carry them at the leaf base, producing major honey crops in the American south and in Thailand respectively. Cornflower carries them on the bracts beneath the flower, which makes it the easiest place to watch the system working.
Where the word gets used loosely
A honey from extrafloral nectar involves no pollination relationship at all — the plant gains nothing from the bee. Rubber tree honey is the clearest case: the tree is paying ants, and the bees are taking the payment.
See also
Other botany terms
Sources
Sources
- Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland — Bloomsbury (2015) · Field guide
- HoneyHQ editorial synthesis — HEKNO Ltd · HoneyHQ synthesis
How sources are selected and weighted is set out in the sources and evidence policy.