Sunday, February 3, 2013

Worlds Shiniest Living Thing


These Pollia condensata berries are so colorful that they might have been picked
minutes ago. In fact, they were gathered in 1974. Found deep in the Ghana forest,
this tropical metre-tall herb sprouts its shiny berry-like fruits in clusters up to
40-strong. These little orbs are iridescent – they use special layers of cells, arranged
just so, to reflect colours with extraordinary intensity. This trick relies on the micro-
scopic physical structures of the cells, rather than on any chemical pigments. Indeed,
the fruits have no blue pigment at all. Like beetles and butterflies the color does not
degrade over time. Researchers say that P. condensata's blue is the most intense color
in the natural world.

Source: www.wired.com/best-science-imges-2012

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