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Mimicry in Plants

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Evolutionary Biology

Part of the book series: Evolutionary Biology ((EBIO,volume 11))

Abstract

Mimetic phenomena have played a central role in many evolutionary questions and today provide some of the best examples of natural selection. Since its discovery by Bates (1862) in Amazonian Heliconiid butterflies many hundreds of papers have been written on the subject and today it is recognized as a major feature of animal evolution, especially in insects.

On picking up from the stony ground what was supposed a curiously shaped pebble it proved to be a plant . . . but in color and appearance bore the closest resemblance to the stones between which it was growing . . . and this little Mesembryanthemum may thus generally escape the notice of cattle and wild animals.

Burchell, 1822

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112, USA

    Delbert Wiens

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  1. Delbert Wiens
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Queens College of the City University of New York, Flushing, New York, USA

    Max K. Hecht

  2. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York, USA

    William C. Steere

  3. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Bruce Wallace

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Wiens, D. (1978). Mimicry in Plants. In: Hecht, M.K., Steere, W.C., Wallace, B. (eds) Evolutionary Biology. Evolutionary Biology, vol 11. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6956-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6956-5_6

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