Ariocarpus scaphirostris has to be one of the most incredible examples of how plants can come to resemble their surroundings in order to hide from animals that might want to eat them. In the rocky rain shadow of the Sierra Madre Oriental we find a cactus that almost perfectly resembles the mudstone talus that it grows on. Though this plant is an expert on camouflage, unfortunately it is not able to hide well enough from the poachers that covet it.

Regardless, it is an excellent example of how millions of years spent evolving on a particular substrate and in a particular environment can end up causing a plant to come to resemble that substrate.

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