Science
Plantwatch: fungus creates fake fragrant flowers to fool bees – The Guardian
Fusarium xyrophilum hijacks yellow-eyed Xyris grasses from Guyana to create forgeries made of fungal tissue
The fraud is so convincing the bees and other pollinators visit them, expecting to get rewarded with nectar and pollen but instead become coated with fungal spores, which they unwittingly carry off to other Xyris plants and infect them.
This type of hoax is not unique but it is by far the most elaborate fungal mimicry known. The leaves of blueberries can be infected by Monilinia fungi, turning the leaves into hoax flowers that reflect ultraviolet light, give off a fragrant scent and ooze sugar to…
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