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posted by martyb on Tuesday April 29 2014, @09:46AM   Printer-friendly
from the hiding-from-Tarzan dept.

A woody vine, Boquila trifoliolata, has been discovered in Chile that has the amazing ability to change the shape of its leaves depending on what tree it is climbing. Further, the same single vine can drape different species of tree, and it will match the shape and size of its leaves to those of each host, but only along that portion of its length.

Other vines are known to mimic one species of host, as a defense against herbivores, but this vine can mimic many, along its length. Biologists say "It is unclear how B. trifoliolata vines discern the identity of individual trees and shape-shift accordingly." Speculation is that chemicals or microbes might trigger gene-activating signals that trigger leaf differentiation. But left unsaid is how the vine would "learn" how to match the shape of its new host's leaf, how it would know it had succeeded, where it would acquire the genes to do so, and how many different trees it can mimic.

Wouldn't you need eyes to do that?

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by wonkey_monkey on Tuesday April 29 2014, @10:38AM

    by wonkey_monkey (279) on Tuesday April 29 2014, @10:38AM (#37583) Homepage

    A long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long x 10^lots process of trial and fatal error

    FTFY. A billion years is a big number to get your head around - no wonder some people have trouble understanding just how many things can happen in that time.

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