Rust (fungus) Rust (fungus) Rusts are plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi of the order Pucciniales (previously also known as Uredinales). An estimated 168 rust genera and approximately 7,000 species, more than half of which belong to the genus "Puccinia", are currently accepted. Rust fungi are highly specialized plant pathogens with several unique features. Taken as a group, rust fungi are diverse and affect many kinds of plants. However, each species has a very narrow range of hosts and cannot be transmitted to non-host plants. In addition, most rust fungi cannot be grown easily in pure culture. A single species of rust
Mimicry in plants of signals. Cryptic mimicry in plants is usually achieved visually. The South American "Boquila trifoliata", of the Lardizabalaceae family, is a climbing vine with a highly variable phenotype. It is capable of mimicking the leaf features of plant species that it clings to, adopting color shape and size. By camouflaging its leafy appendages, "Boquila" lowers its rate of herbivory. Mimicry in plants In evolutionary biology, mimicry in plants is where a plant organism evolves to resemble another organism physically or chemically, increasing the mimic's Darwinian fitness. Mimicry in plants has been studied far less than mimicry in animals, with fewer