6o NATURE STUDY. 



Wonderful Plant Mimics. 



Insects of vet}' different kinds imitate other insects, or inanimate 

 objects, either for self-protection or to get food. But it is a much 

 rarer thing to see plants sailing under false colors. The so-called 

 "living stones" of the Falkland islands are quite the most start- 

 ling instance known. The Falklands islands are possessions of 

 ours which lie off the coast of Patagonia. Thej^ are invaluable for 

 the excellent grazing they afford for sheep, but they are so con- 

 stantly swept bj' bitter antarctic winds that ordinary trees will not 

 grow upon them. 



Nature, however, has made amends for this lack of timber. The 

 visitor to the islands will find here and there large areas strewn 

 with what appear to be lichen-covered boulders. It is not until he 

 attempts to move one of these stones that he discovers that the ob- 

 ject is not what it seems. It is anchored to the ground by tough 

 roots, and is, in fact, not a rock but a tree without branches or 

 leaves. These " living stones " are very hard to cut, as they have 

 hardly any grain. But they burn well, making a very hot fire. 



Other plants seem to take a mere freakish pleasure in suddenly 

 altering their usual characteristics and looking like something 

 quite different. The cockscomb of our gardens is, in reality, noth- 

 ing but the common pigweed. The cockscomb has been enlarged 

 by constant cultivation, but it was originally nothing else but pig- 

 weed, masquerading under a new form. 



Similar to tnis is the plant named in seedmen's catalogues " dig- 

 italis monstrosa, or the " monstrous foxglove." To look at it, no 

 one would be likely to connect it with the ordinary foxglove, for 

 its flowers are flat and two or three inches across. Yet it is not a 

 cross, but only a freakish form of the ordinary wild foxglove. 



Some of the most startling of all mimics in the vegetable world 

 are to be found among the fungi. One of them, known as the Jew's 

 ear, and occasionally found in this countrj^ has gained its name 

 from its exact resemblance to a human ear. Another, known as 

 the aserve, is the living image of a sea anemone, while the fungus 

 called oleaster might be taken for a dead starfish. — London An 



