Black-bulb yam’s mimicry tricks birds into spreading its berrylike clones. The plant's novel strategy helps it spread without seeds or sexual reproduction.

The black-bulb yam excels at mimicry, producing small clones of itself that look like the dark, shiny berries of seed-growing ...

Evolutionarily speaking, the ultimate goal of a lifeform is to reproduce and stave off extinction. Many plants and animals ...

A rare yam species, Dioscorea melanophyma, spreads its clones by fooling birds with fake berries, helping it survive without seeds.

Yams are considered one of the world’s most important crops. A starchy, nutrient-rich root vegetable of the genus Dioscorea, the yam thrives in a tropical belt across West Africa, with outliers in the ...