What is Mimicry in Plants?
How Do Flowers That Don't Produce Nectar Encourage Pollination?
 Epidendrum ibaguense By Alejandro Bayer Tamayo
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 Asclepias curassavica 'Silky Gold' By Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man)
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Why Do Plants Mimic Insects?
Illustration of leaf and flower morphology for Ophrys apifera.
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 Bee Orchid by Bernard DUPONT
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The Hammer orchid (Drakaea) has a labellum with the same shape and colour as a female Thynnid wasp. The flower also emits a chemical similar to the pheromone produced by the female wasp. A labellum is a petal designed to attract insects and serves as a landing site for them. Once the male Thynnid wasp lands, he tries to carry off the labellum, thinking it's his mate. The female Thynnid wasp is flightless, and copulation occurs during flight as the male carries her to a food source. During this attempt, pollen attaches to him. Once he gives up trying to detach the labellum, he tries his luck elsewhere, possibly on another hammer orchid, transferring the pollen he carries to its stigma.
Glossy-leaved hammer orchid
Do Plants Use Mimicry For
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Cryptic mimicry describes a scenario where a prey organism changes its appearance or habits to avoid detection by a predator. Animals and plants use visual camouflage to conceal themselves, and mimic plants can change their leaves' orientation, colour, shape or texture to achieve this. Researchers hypothesise that cryptic mimicry reduces the chance of the herbivores eating the plant. The South American Boquila trifoliata is a climbing vine that can camouflage itself by mimicking the leaves of the trees and plants it grows on. It has a unique gift and can mimic several hosts despite no parasitic relationships (a relationship where one organism benefits at the expense of the other). Read more here!
- Flickr: Boquila trifoliata
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