Nov16,2023
Native to southern South America, can mimic the leaf shape, size and even color of more than a dozen plant
Scientists have yet to figure out why, exactly, the vine mimics other plants, though it may give them some protection against herbivores like snails and beetles
Mimic leaves showed higher aspect ratio and lower rectangularity and form factor compared to non-mimic leaves
Boquila trifoliolata grows in very wet conditions in the Valdivian temperate rainforest.
The majority of leaves have three lobes with blunted tips. Variation of the number of lobes can be seen with some leaves having multiple lobes and others having less than three.
It grows vines that wrap around host plants, mimicking the host's leaves in a phenomenon called mimetic polymorphism