Do mistletoes show cryptic mimicry of their hosts?
A feature of many Australian loranth mistletoes is their apparent close vegetative similarity to their usual hosts. In fact, this feature seems to be more frequent in Australia than anywhere else. In Australia the phenomenon includes the most common host genera, including Eucalyptus, Acacia, Casuarina/Allocasuarina, Melaleuca, mangroves (Rhizophora) and Atalaya, and several mistletoe genera, including Amyema, Lysiana, Muellerina, Diplatia and Dendrophthoe. It occurs in virtually all open woodland associations in Australia. Host-parasite resemblance therefore appears to have been established independently many times, and may be an important evolutionary feature in Australian mistletoes. The resemblance between host and parasite is mainly in the shape, size and presentation of the leaves. Host-mistletoe combinations with linear, compressed or needle-like leaves are best developed on Casuarina and Allocasuarina, but also occur on narrow-leaved species of Acacia, Eremophila, Grevillea and
