Leaves that act like neon signs in restaurants

Floral Acoustics: Conspicuous Echoes of a Dish-Shaped Leaf Attract Bat Pollinators

Ralph Simon,Marc W. Holderied,Corinna U. Koch,Otto von Helversen

Science 29 July 2011: 
Vol. 333 no. 6042 pp. 631-633 
DOI: 10.1126/science.1204210

Restaurants usually have eye catching neon signs to attract customers. Researchers have come up with an analogy from the natural word. Scientists have just described the behavior of a vine (Marcgravia evenia ) found in Cuban jungle, that puts forth unusual dish-shaped leaf displayed above the inflorescences to attract bats.

The special leaf makes the wine more conspicuous to the sonar of bats and acts like a dish reflector. This leaf’s echoes fulfilled requirements for an effective beacon.  They were strong and multidirectional

According to the researchers this is an interesting example of the ongoing coevolution of flowering plants and their animal pollinators,