rogan wrote: > the wiki. Disa pulchra is a fascinating plant > indeed and is a wonderful example > of one plant imitating another (Batesian mimicry). > In the wild D.pulchra > flowers at the same time and occupies the same > habitats as Watsonia > densiflora and indeed looks very similar when in > flower. The story goes > that pollinators attracted to the Watsonia flowers > mistakenly pollinate > the disas as well, but receive no pollen or nectar > rewards in return. As > far as is known the watsonias derive no benefit from > this relationship > at all, but the disas undoubtably do as sooner or > later the insects will > be fooled by other Disa flowers and > cross-pollination will take place. cameron replied: > I concur with your story of > the ollination of Disa pulchra. In the Amatola > mountains in the Eastern Cape there are two pink > subjects flowering together with Disa pulchra in > December - both of which fool me from a distance and > perhaps fool the pollinators. The one is Watsonia > amatolae, a local endemic related to W. desiflora > and the other is Dierama igneum - both are the same > height and the identical pink shade. You will > notice from the Wicki pictures two distinct forms of > Disa pulchra - the form on Mt. Kemp is quite > different in general shape to the Mt. Thomas form. this reminds me of a couple of mimicry examples i've witnessed in brazil, both involving orchids. there is a vine (Peixotoa or Stimagtophyllum, in the Malpighiaceae), a common roadside weed, which has yellow flowers just like Oncidium orchids! there are also a few species of reed-stemmed Epidendrum orchids (may be in a new genus by now, i don't keep up with orchids as much anymore) with bright red flowers (sometimes with yellow lips) -- some growing in pure sand in beaches -- that resemble common roadside weeds, Asclepias (curassavica?). now, as to which plant is mimicking which, i do not know. ========= tsuh yang __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com/