“By providing an enticement for ants to take its seeds,” Ms. Gracie writes, “a plant ensures that the seeds will have a chance to grow in other localities, where they won’t have to compete with the parent plant for resources.”

Ecologists call this form of ant-plant mutualism myrmecochory — from the Greek words myrmex for ant and chorein for to wander, Ms. Gracie explains.

Another potential benefit of those wandering ants: Seed predators like rodents won’t find the prize as easily if an ant has moved it to a distance of up to 30 feet away.

Trillium seeds are not unique among spring wildflowers in having ant treats attached. Myrmecochory is an especially common mechanism in deciduous forests in Eastern North America, where it is estimated that as many as 35 percent of herbaceous understory species rely on it.

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Two spring natives that readily sow themselves around the garden sometimes overlap in bloom, making a vivid combination, Ms. Gracie said. The celandine poppy produces bright yellow blooms around the same time as true-blue Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica).

Another bluish moment in the bluebells’ life is when it emerges from underground with its foliage tinted almost purple. Blue cohosh and twinleaf do this, too, displaying pigments gardeners might expect in fall leaves rather than spring ones.

Why would early-rising woodlanders come up loaded with red and blue pigments (the anthocyanins) instead of green (from chlorophyll)?

There are various strategies that may be at work, Ms. Gracie said. These pigments may be less palatable than green ones to early-awakening herbivores, both animals and insects. They may also serve to protect tender young leaves from strong sunlight, before the canopy has leafed out.


https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/realestate/look-fast-its-spring-wildflower-season.html