Vachellia cornigera - The name for the bullhorn acacia tree is derived from the bull shaped hollow thorns at the base of the leaves. The plant has a symbiotic relationship with the pseudomyrmex ant. The bullhorn lacks the bitter alkaloid found in most acacia trees to deter insects and grazers. The ants harvest the leaf tips and eat the nectar flowing from the base of the leaf petioles. The plant is protected from other insects and animals by the ants residing in the hollow thorns.
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Following the decline and fall of the Maya civilization, Belize, along with most of the Americas, fell to Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. British settlers, many being active or former pirates, were granted permission by the Spanish Crown to settle and log Belize, having agreed to forsake piracy. With the end of Spanish rule in Central America, the colony was formally ceded to Britain in 1836 and became British Honduras. In 1981, the colony was granted independence and renamed Belize.
