In The Plant World

In the last nine weeks I have discussed some amazing camouflage and mimicry techniques and mechanisms that animals use to hide from predators and gain access to prey. You might be questioning if the only organisms in the natural world that use these techniques are animals. The answer is no, not by a long shot. Plants use both camouflage and mimicry to conceal themselves from herbivores looking for their next meal.

Wallace (1877) presumed that plants rarely had the need to conceal themselves, due to their protection methods of spines, toxicity, hardness or hairy coverings. This is believed to have led to less research into the field (Niu et al., 2018). However, there is a push to acknowledge the numerous ways that camouflage and mimicry is used in the plant world (Niu et al., 2018). These methods have been aligned to animal camouflage such as, blending with their background, colour disruption, masquerading and chemical (Niu et al., 2018). Again, like animals, the better the camouflage, the less likely the plant will be eaten and the better the selection strength. Therefore, plants use camouflage in the same way that animals use it, to pass on their genes (Niu et al., 2017). 

An example of background matching in plants is the corydalis (Corydalis hemidicentra), a small alpine plant with cryptic leaf colouration (Niu et al., 2017). The colouration of the leaf depends greatly on the colour of its background, which means colour divergence has been noted within the same species (Niu et al., 2017). Corydalis are found in Southwest China’s mountains, where the environment is harsh, bare and rocky (Niu et al., 2017). The corydalis use background matching to camouflage against the rocks and defend itself against attacks by herbivores.

Corydalis (Corydalis hemidicentra)

Another example of the use of camouflage and mimicry in the plant world is the “living stone” succulent (genus Lithops). Containing 37 known species, they are predominantly found in Southern Africa (Kellner et al., 2011). The subfamily Aizoaceae, are fascinating plants that look like small stones scattered among the rocks (Kellner et al., 2011). I’m not sure if they use background matching, disruptive colouration or mimicry and could not find any solid answer in the research. Though, I can say that they are interesting little plants!

Living Stones (subfamily Aizoaceae)

Take a look at these other plants that use camouflage and mimicry. One of my favourites is the bee orchid that tricks male bees by looking and smelling like a female bee! 

References:

Kellner A., Ritz C., Schlittenhardt P., & Hellwig F. (2011). Genetic Differentiation in the Genus Lithops L. (Ruschioideae, Aizoaceae) Reveals a High Level of Convergent Evolution and Reflects Geographic Distribution. Plant Biology. 13(2), 368-380.

Niu Y., Chen Z., Stevens M., & Sun H. (2017). Divergence in cryptic leaf colour provides local camouflage in an alpine plant: Divergence in Cryptic Leaf Colour Provides Local Camouflage in an Alpine Plant. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 284(1864), 1-8.

Niu Y., Sun H., & Stevens M. (2018). Plant Camouflage: Ecology, Evolution, and Implications. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 33(8), 608-618.

Wallace A. (1877). The Colours of Animals and Plants II. The Colours of Plants. Macmillan’s Magazine. 36, 464-471.