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Vachellia allenii
Ant Acacia (Vachellia allenii) is a thorny, spreading tree from the wet forests of southwest Costa Rica that grows up to 22 metres. It is rarely grown outside its native range, and is known mainly for its living partnership with stinging Pseudomyrmex ants that defend it.
Vachellia allenii, commonly known as ant acacia is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is a tree with thorns, compound leaves, and dehiscent seed pods. It is symbiotic with ants of the genus Pseudomyrmex.
Vachellia allenii is endemic to Costa Rica. It was described in 1974, and named for Paul H. Allen. The species is listed as near threatened by the IUCN.
Vachellia allenii is native to the wet tropical biome of Puntarenas, Costa Rica. It is endemic to the south-west of the country, and is mainly present in Osa Peninsula and Golfito.
Vachellia albicorticata · Vachellia aroma var. aroma · Vachellia aroma var. huarango · Vachellia bucheri · Vachellia caven var. caven · Vachellia caven var. dehiscens · Vachellia caven var. microcarpa · Vachellia caven var. stenocarpa · Vachellia cernua · Vachellia flava · Vachellia haematoxylon · Vachellia kirkii
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Vachellia allenii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
