Flowers and Fungi Use Scents to Mimic Each Other
Roman Kaiser
Some flowering plants mimic the scent and appearance of mushroom
fruiting bodies. Fungi may also mimic flowers. In addition,
infection of plants by certain fungi can direct the plant to
develop nonfunctional floral-like structures that nonetheless
primarily serve the reproductive advantage of the fungus. These
various mimicries may serve to attract insects that in turn
spread fungal spores or plant pollen, thus facilitating sexual
reproduction of the cryptic organism.
The author is at Givaudan Schweiz AG, Fragrance Research, Ueberlandstrasse 138, CH-8600 Dubendorf, Switzerland.
E-mail: roman.kaiser{at}givaudan.com