Batesian In Batesian mimicry, named after the English naturalist
Henry Walter Bates, a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a
predator. Batesian mimicry of
thorns and possibly of spider webs has been observed in plants. Thorn mimicry of two types has been observed in plants. The first, a special case of intra-organismic Batesian mimicry characteristic of
Aloe species (
Liliaceae),
Washingtonia filifera (
Arecaceae), and dozens of species of
Agave, including
A. applanta, A. salmiana, and
A. obscura. These plants develop thornlike imprints or colorations on the face of their leaves due to the teeth along the margins of that leaf (or another leaf) pressing sustained indentations into the flesh of the non-spiny parts. The second type of thorn mimicry, a more classic case of Batesian mimicry, involves the pointed, colorful organs like
buds, leaves and fruit of mimetic plant species that mimic warning-coloured
aposematic colorful thorns not found anywhere else in the organism. Several plants from different parts of the world may be mimics of spider webs. Dense, white
trichomes are produced on newly extended stems and leaves that deter
herbivory due to predatory habit or toxicity. This may be a case of visual mimicry or perceptual exploitation. Case examples include the new buds of
Onopordum from Israel,
Carthamus species from Greece, flower heads of
Arctium tomentosum from Estonia, a fledgling leaf of
Tussilago farfara from Estonia, and new
fronds of
Osmunda japonica from Japan. Another plant leaf pattern has been suggested to be mimetic: irregular white blotches on leaves of plants such as
Pulmonaria officinalis perhaps protect against large herbivores through their resemblance to bird droppings, which could be avoided as possible sources of disease. File:Onopordum bracteatum0.jpg|Plants such as
Onopordum have dense white
trichomes, which may offer protection from herbivory through their resemblance to spider webs. File:Pulmonaria officinalis 124245650.jpg|Leaves of plants such as
Pulmonaria officinalis have irregular white blotches that may look like bird droppings to herbivores. Some plants mimic the presence of insect eggs on their leaves, dissuading insect species from laying their eggs there. Because female butterflies are less likely to lay their eggs on plants that already have butterfly eggs, some species of
neotropical vines of the
genus Passiflora (passion flowers) make use of
Gilbertian mimicry: they possess physical structures resembling the yellow eggs of
Heliconius butterflies on their leaves, which discourage
oviposition by butterflies.
Gilbertian Gilbertian or colonisation mimicry is bipolar, involving only two species. The potential host (or prey) drives away its parasite (or predator) by mimicking it, the reverse of host–parasite aggressive mimicry. Georges Pasteur named it after the American
ecologist Lawrence E. Gilbert, who described it in 1975. The classical instance of Gilbertian mimicry is in the plant genus
Passiflora, which is grazed by the
micropredator larvae of some
Heliconius butterflies. The host plants have evolved
stipules, small outgrowths on the leaf, that mimic mature
Heliconius eggs near the point of hatching. The butterflies avoid laying eggs near existing ones, reducing
intraspecific competition between caterpillars, which are also
cannibalistic, so those that lay on vacant leaves provide their offspring with a greater chance of survival. The stipules thus appear to have evolved as Gilbertian mimics of butterfly eggs, under selection pressure from these caterpillars. File:Heliconiinae - Heliconius numata.JPG|Some
Passiflora flower species use
Gilbertian mimicry, defending against being eaten by larvae of
Heliconius butterflies with leaf
stipules (not shown) that resemble the butterfly's eggs. File:Bulbophyllum scabratum butterfly egg mimicry.jpg|Butterfly egg mimicry in the orchid
Bulbophyllum scabratum Crypsis In ecology,
crypsis is an organism's ability to avoid detection by other organisms. In cryptic mimicry, a prey organism deceives a predator by providing false signals, often visual, so as to
camouflage itself.
Leaf mimicry (centre) has leaves closely resembling those of its various hosts, here Casuarina equisetifolia''. One form of crypsis is leaf mimicry.
Boquila trifoliata, a South American member of the family
Lardizabalaceae, is a climbing vine with a highly variable appearance (
phenotype). It is capable of mimicking the leaf features of plant species that it clings to, such as their coloration, size, and shape. By camouflaging its leaves,
Boquila reduces damage from herbivorous animals. It has been speculated that such plants may make use of "some kind of vision" using ocelli, or "delicate chemical sensing", to account for the mimic's ability to cope with such a large number of variables in its model's appearance, including the ability to mimic the foliage of an artificial host plant made of plastic. Another plant that could well be a cryptic mimic of its host is the parasitic Australian mistletoe,
Amyema cambagei, which has an "uncanny resemblance" to the foliage of
Casuarina trees.
Stone mimicry '', a pebble plant,
camouflaged as small stones Some hundreds of species in the
Mesembryanthemaceae (ice plants) of Southern Africa are
camouflaged by masquerade as small stones, especially
Lithops, which are known as pebble plants or living stones. By appearing non-living, they are less likely to be eaten by herbivores, and in dusty dry conditions among stones are extremely difficult to detect. == In cultivation ==