Even though we need plants for survival, we tend to take them for granted. Unfortunately, plants aren’t cuddly.

They don’t greet us at the front door or purr when we touch them. They don’t even beg for treats. They’re just sort of there.

True enough, but some of the things plants do are still amazing.

There are plants that have blooms that look like insects; plants that look and smell like rotten meat; and even plants that look like rocks.

The point of these elaborate deceptions is to gain some sort of advantage, such as pollination by a specific insect or protection from predators.

It’s an evolutionary strategy rather than the ploy of just one plant, but sometimes plants’ use of mimicry can be quite bizarre. Did you know that plants can mimic the shape and smell of insects?

The flowers of the bee orchid look remarkably like female bees resting on pink flowers; they even give off a scent that is nearly identical to the sex pheromone of female bees. What’s more, the orchids bloom right around the time that adult male bees emerge from the pupal stage, precisely when there are few female bees available and competition for a mate is fierce.

Why has the orchid evolved this way? The orchid needs bees to pollinate it, but doesn’t produce any nectar that would attract them, so it engages in this elaborate deception.

Male bees see the bloom, attempt to mate with this imposter, and in the process get covered with pollen, which they transport to the next flower and inadvertently pollinate. This type of mimicry is quite prevalent in the tropics.

Did you know that plants can mimic the look and smell of rotting meat — mottled red/brown color, hairs and vile odor?

Many of the Bulbophyllum orchids; the Amorphophallus titanium, which supposedly has the foulest smell of any flower; and our own skunk cabbages use this strategy to attract flies and other carrion eating insects.

Some of these insects aren’t necessarily looking for pollen but for a place to lay eggs. In the case of skunk cabbages, they bloom so early that carrion seekers are often the only insects around to pollinate them.

Did you know that some plants use mimicry to protect themselves? Some species of southern African ice plants closely resemble the shape, color and texture of small rocks.

During the dry season, these “living stones” shrivel, become lightly covered with sand, and are just about impossible to identify as plants.

In fact, they were discovered in the 1800s by John Burchell, a British naturalist, when he picked up what he thought was an interesting pebble.

How did this mimicry of rocks come about? Many years ago, small ground foraging animals roamed the African plains.

During the dry season, these animals would eat anything that even vaguely resembled food.

By evolving to resemble inedible rocks and pebbles, the plants protected themselves. During the wet season, there are plenty of other plants available for animals to eat, so that’s when these ice plants flower, thus looking considerably more like plants.

Yes, plants do amazing things. Just look around and see incredible things in Mother Nature’s garden.

CYNTHIA WOOD is a master gardener who writes two columns for The Herald. Her email is cynthia.crewe23930@gmail.com.