Females Outnumber Males

Just like Women outnumber Men in buying the expensive Starbucks coffee, the Triplaris species, aka the ant tree and also the long john tree exhibits the same behavior. There was a worldwide observation made in the wild, and it was believed that Triplaris species is female skewed. In simpler English, that says that you naturally find more female than male trees in the wild. So the natural question is why so. Back when money was more easily available, there were studies to find answers to this mystery and one answer is that male Triplaris is exhausted and dies younger than its female counterpart after its effort in reproduction. Wow! Sex does kill! The long explanation is that guy Triplaris expend their pollen with abandon without any calculation to preserve its valuable resource while attempting to fertilize as many nearby females as possible; while female Triplaris are more careful making seeds to ensure that they are not produced in vain. The end result is that they prevail longer. Far fetched? You can look up these research papers if you don't believe me (Sex Ratio in the Tropical Tree Triplaris americana (Polygonaceae,) Melampy and Howe, November 1976.) That theory translates well into my own personal experience. I found one pair of Triplaris sp.: one male and one female. I found a cluster of females and only one male Triplaris cumingiana... and today, I found a lone female Triplaris americana. There are indeed more gal than guy Triplaris in Miami. Looking at this ant tree, you must agree that it fits the long john description to a "T." In any case, all the Triplaris are in bloom at this time so it's real easy to recognize them... just look for spectacular red flowers high above the canopies while you walk around in Miami.