Creepy plant mutations

Discover Magazine has an article about the five creepiest ways plant diseases mutate flowers.

The list includes replacing pollen with disease bombs, growing fake flowers, impersonating a neighbor, luring bees and birds with sweets, and forcing a host to stay open all the time. The article then breaks down how each disease operates and how the effect is produced.

"Plant diseases can’t scatter in sneeze droplets like a human virus can. But they can change the look and behavior of their hosts to make sure they travel as widely—and dangerously—as possible," says the article. 

To read the full article click here.