Why are there so few black flowers?

Why are there so few black flowers?

Usually we say that black flowers include black tulips, black chrysanthemums, etc. In fact, there is no such thing as a pure black flower in the world. Flowers that are usually called black are only dark purple.

Even then, they are scarce. What is the reason for this? Insects don't want to be "matchmakers" It turns out that most flowering plants reproduce offspring and rely on insects to be matchmakers.

Beautiful and bright flowers are easy to attract insects, while black flowers are too dark to attract the attention of insects. If insects do not pollinate, black-flowered plants will not be able to bear fruit, and over time, many species will be eliminated. Lack of parasols Scientists have found that there is a direct relationship between the color of the flower and the anthocyanins contained in the flower.

When anthocyanins are combined with different metal elements such as copper, iron, cobalt, molybdenum and other metal elements in plants, the petals will show different colors as if they have been graded by a palette. However, unfortunately, they are not so original, and they can't be blended with pure black colors, so there are no pure black flowers. Truth be told, the black flower is dangerous in front of the sun because it doesn't have a "parasol".

Sunlight is composed of 7 different colors of light: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet, and these rays have different wavelengths and different amounts of heat. Among the flowers, there are more red and yellow flowers because their petals reflect the red and yellow light of the sun, so that our eyes can see that they appear red and yellow. Precisely, red and yellow light contain more heat, so that the petals of red and yellow flowers are not easily injured.

But the black flower is different, it doesn't have a "parasol", it can't reflect the sun's rays, and the sun's rays are all eaten into the petals, can you say it won't hurt? Therefore, in nature, black flowers have become an alternative among flowers, which are very rare, and therefore very precious.

There are two reasons why black flowers are rare: 1. Black will absorb a lot of heat from sunlight, and the petal tissue is easily burned by high temperatures. 2. Most flowering plants reproduce offspring, relying on insects, black flowers because the color is too dark, it is difficult to attract the attention of insects, insects do not come to pollinate, black flowers plants can not bear fruit.

So under long-term natural selection, the black flower gene is gradually eliminated.

After long-term observation and research, scientists have found that because the wavelength of the seven colors of sunlight is different, the heat content is also different. Flower tissues, especially petals, are generally delicate and susceptible to high temperatures. The more common red, orange and yellow flowers reflect the red, orange and yellow light that contains more heat energy in the sun, so that they will not be burned and have a self-protective effect.

The black flower can absorb all the light waves, and it heats up quickly in the sun, and the flower tissue is easily damaged. Therefore, after a long period of natural elimination, there are not many black varieties left.

In addition, black flowers are difficult to attract insects, which is very detrimental to their pollen spreading, so black flowers are gradually eliminated by natural selection.

In the evolutionary history of survival of the fittest, plants with black flowers have mostly been eliminated. Some of the black-flowered plants we see today are naturally preserved, and some are actually cultivated by people.

Black flowers are rare, mainly because the color pigments contained in the petals of most plants are red, yellow, blue and other color slag, and there is very little melanin. Moreover, the color of the flower is very important for the pollination of the flower, as it attracts pollinators such as insects and helps in the formation of flower fruits. However, some plant varieties have been modified to produce black flowers, such as black roses and black lilies, but these black flowers are not naturally present.

In addition, black flowers are often endowed with some mysterious and magical symbolic meanings, so they are often selected or used in artificial cultivation.

Because black absorbs heat, if there are a lot of black flowers, they are very easy to die of heat in the middle of the day, so black flowers are rare.

There are also black flowers in nature, such as black peony, black chrysanthemum, etc. Since there are few black flowers, rare and expensive, black peony and black chrysanthemum have become treasures. In addition to the black flowers, there are many other colors of flowers, which are colorful and decorate nature.

Why are there so few black flowers?

In the petals, there are generally two substances, one is called anthocyanins and the other is called carotene. Anthocyanins are very unstable in nature, red when encountering acids, blue when encountering alkalis, blue-black when encountering strong alkaline substances, and purple when neutral. There are also some flowers that are yellow, orange-yellow, and orange-red.

Their petals contain carotene. The color of the flower is related to the substance contained in the petals, and the black factor can not be produced in the plant, and only in special cases may there be a black tendency, so the black flower is very rare, and the simple black flower does not exist. This is a physiological factor for the low number of black flowers.

But why doesn't nature cause black factors in plants? Mainly because of the sun's light, if the flowers are black, then they will absorb the energy of all wavelengths of sunlight, which is easy to be burned by strong sunlight, so natural selection determines that there are very few black flowers.

The scarcity of black flowers is associated with sunlight. As we know, sunlight is composed of seven light colors, and the heat contained in different wavelengths is also different - red, orange, and yellow are long-wave light, which contains more heat; Cyan, blue, and purple are short-wave light with little calorie content. Flowers, especially petals, are relatively delicate and susceptible to high temperatures, so they generally absorb blue-violet light with less heat and reflect red-orange light; This is the reason why there are more red, orange and yellow flowers.

If it absorbs more heat-containing red-orange light, it is susceptible to high temperatures, which is why there are fewer blue and purple flowers. Of course, if all the seven color light waves are absorbed, the damage will be even greater, and it will be difficult to survive; In addition, the rarity of black flowers may also be related to insects. Black flowers are difficult to attract insects, so they are gradually eliminated in natural selection.

That's why there are so few black flowers. Black mandala, black tulip, black peony, black rose, black lily, tiger whisker, black iris, black snow lotus, black lotus, and black chrysanthemum are all very mysterious flowers, but they are not really black, but the color is purple or blue in nature is very dark, but it is also very precious. Testimonials from questioners:

Thank you very much!

There are many varieties of plants and flowers, the flower colors are thousands of purple and red, colorful, only the black flowers are rare and rare. According to statistics, out of more than 41 million plant species in the world, only 8 species have black flowers.

Black tulips. Black roses.

Black lily. Black Lotus.

Ink chrysanthemum. Black Muyster Kuan attacked Dan.

Black Snow Lotus.

Black iris - the national flower of Yoyo Xiangdan.

There is a kind of natural black flower, called tiger whiskers, also called arrow root potato, which grows in Simao, Yunnan.