Boquila is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lardizabalaceae, endemic to temperate forests of central and southern Chile and Argentina.

It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Boquila trifoliolata, locally known as voqui blanco or pilpil in its native range,[2] and sometimes referred as the chameleon vine since a recent report on leaf mimicry.

Hypotheses about the mimicry mechanism include microbial mediated horizontal gene transfer, volatile organic compound sensing, and the use of eye-like structures.

[3][4] The species was first described as Dolichos funarius in 1782 by Juan Ignacio Molina, and in 1817, the holotype Lardizabala trifoliolata was named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle.

In 1936, Gualterio Looser attempted to reclassify the species to Lardizabala funaria based upon the observations of Carlo Giuseppe Bertero, but this classification is not considered valid.

Mimetic polymorphism is only observed elsewhere in some species of butterflies, but that is the result of genetic divergence, unlike B. trifoliata which engages in rapid changes in leaf morphology.

[19] This is a form of Batesian mimicry, where the B. trifoliata is harmless but resembles a less palatable or harmful plant to ward off herbivory species and pests.

[21][22][4] The exact mechanism by which mimicry occurs is not well understood but may involve chemical, odor, genetic, metagenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, epigenetic, and/or microbial cues to identify and mimic the species it is attached to.

[19][4] Plant ecologist Ernesto Gianoli proposed that the host tree may be emitting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the environment that B. trifoliata can detect.

[4] The use of VOC-mediated plant-to-plant communication is widely employed in non-specific biological processes, including up-regulation of defense-related genes, and could explain why no contact is necessary for mimicry.

Criticisms of this hypothesis are that this would mark the first time that VOCs were used to change plant morphology, and that B. trifoliata's mimicry has a level of specificity that is not normally seen with VOC-mediated responses.

This would influence the genes, transposons, and/or epigenetics of the plant's leaves, identifying the host and changing the leaf's morphology without necessitating physical contact.

[19][23] In a 2021 study, Gianoli found that the microbiomes of B. trifoliata and its host plant show significant overlap following the initiation of mimicry.

[19] In a 2021 study published in the journal Plant Signaling & Behavior, Felipe Yamashita and Jacob White claimed that B. trifoliata may employ a primitive form of vision to identify and mimic their hosts.

[18][23] The study also found that non-mimetic leaves have more free-end veinlets and identified the hormone auxin as a possible mediator in changes to leaf morphology.

Criticisms of the paper include poor methodology, White's lack of a scientific background, and possible conflicts of interest between Baluška and Yamashita.