symbiosis

This is a peony flower bud. These stunning flowers thrive in the Calgary climate for some reasons. They produce beautifully fragrant blooms and have lovely foliage. They die back each Autumn to reemerge in the spring from buds that have survived a very harsh winter just under the surface of the soil.

Most remarkable is that to flower properly Peonies need ants to eat away the sugary coating that covers the flower bud.

Here you see several ants crawling over the bud in order to liberate the flower. amazing.