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Boquila trifoliolata: Nature’s Master of Disguise
The Leaf-Mimicking Vine in South America that Has Ecologists Baffled
In the temperate rainforests of southern Chile and Argentina hides a peculiar species of vine. Discovered early in the 2010s, this strange species called Boquila trifoliolata (locally titled the pilpil), has the incredible ability to mimic the leaves of other plant species it grows upon. The leaves of the pilpil, though naturally stubby and lobed, grow to nearly perfectly match the leaves of multiple other species near it, showcasing one of the most incredible feats of camouflage ever found in the plant kingdom.
But, compared to other examples of mimicry in the kingdom Plantae, the B. trifoliolata is notably more sophisticated in its ability to copy — at least, more sophisticated than the examples we’ve discovered thus far. Not only can an individual pilpil mimic multiple sorts of leaves on different parts of its vine, but it can also copy leaf shapes without touching or physically connecting to the plant it seeks to copy. To decipher how this incredible ability could come about and how the plant could manage to accomplish such incredible skill, researchers from all over the world set out to study the strange little organism.
