This is mimicry in plants where a weed comes to look like a crop plant.
Before herbicides, weeds were plucked by hand.
This has been done for thousands of years.
The weeds come to look like the crop because the weeders pick those weeds which look most different.
Vavilovian mimicry is caused by unintentional selection by humans.
The weeds that survive pass on their genes.
Gradually, all the weeds look more like the crop plant.

An example is rye, a common Mediterranean species.
Rye was originally just a weed growing with wheat and barley.
Weeding made it like the crop.
Like wheat, it came to have larger seeds and more rigid spindles to which the seeds are attached.

Rye is a tougher plant than wheat: it survives in harsher conditions.
Having become a crop like the wheat, rye was able to become a crop plant in harsh areas, such as hills and mountains.
This is mimicry in plants where a weed comes to look like a crop plant. Before herbicides, weeds were plucked by hand. This has been done for thousands of years. The weeds come to look like the crop because the weeders pick those weeds which look most different. Vavilovian mimicry is caused by unintentional selection by humans. The weeds that survive pass on their genes. Gradually, all the weeds look more like the crop plant.
An example is rye, a common Mediterranean species. Rye was originally just a weed growing with wheat and barley. Weeding made it like the crop. Like wheat, it came to have larger seeds and more rigid spindles to which the seeds are attached.
Rye is a tougher plant than wheat: it survives in harsher conditions. Having become a crop like the wheat, rye was able to become a crop plant in harsh areas, such as hills and mountains.
Nikolai Vavilov