JRE #2467 - Michael Pollan · Aired Mar 14, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Plants can see vines which change their shape to mimic the plants they are climbing.
The finding
What the evidence shows
Boquila trifoliolata really does mimic the leaf shape, size, and color of whatever plant it climbs, sometimes even without touching it, and that mimicry is genuinely documented by researchers. But the idea that the vine can 'see' its host to do this is one contested hypothesis, not an accepted explanation, and a study testing the vision idea has been criticized by other scientists for weak design and unreplicated results. The mechanism behind the mimicry is still an open question in botany.
Read the supporting source · www.the-scientist.com ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Plants can see vines which change their shape to mimic the plants they are climbing?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. Boquila trifoliolata really does mimic the leaf shape, size, and color of whatever plant it climbs, sometimes even without touching it, and that mimicry is genuinely documented by researchers. It was said on JRE #2467 - Michael Pollan, aired Mar 14, 2026, at 68:15. We haven't independently confirmed who said it. The supporting source is the-scientist.com, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
- Not independently confirmed in this record
- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
No dated revision is recorded here. Older checks may predate this log.
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