You may never have heard of it Fritillaria delavyi, and this is normal since it is a plant that is becoming increasingly rare and growing at a very high altitude in the mountains of China (Sichuan, Xunan and Yunnan provinces). It produces a unique and unique flower five years after it is placed in the ground, which makes it rare that costs a lot of money. In addition, researchers recently noticed a surprising fact: it changes color more often to escape from people. Here is his incredible story Fritillaria delavyi.
His life in the mountainous region
This plant, which is found between 3,800 and 4,700 meters above sea level in China, has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine. The extract of its bulb is actually used to treat cough. coveted, selecting it Fritillaria delavyi is therefore on the rise Over the years. But this is no longer allowed to happen since then her natural instinct prompts her to camouflage herself as a lizard.
Basically, the leaves and flowers of this plant are green in color. However, there are few botanists from the University of Exeter (England) and the Kunming Institute of Botany (China) studied its color more closely and made a surprising observation: the plant is no longer as green as before and often changes color to gray or brown.
To arrive at this observation, they compared the colors of the flowers according to the places where they grow, their visibility and the harvesting areas. They quickly concluded that the color of the plants differed mainly in the areas most affected by the harvest. This means that in areas where people regularly interfere with nature, Fritillaria delavyi camouflaged in hues similar to the mountain rocks they range from brown to dark gray. You can see it in the photo below:
Humans change nature’s reflexes
Before concluding that this camouflage is the result of human pressure, scientists thought it came from herbivores and that the plant was hiding in front of them. But noting that no such animal lived in the environment, scientists quickly realized that it came from Man. The Fritillaria delavyi so change color, because they gather very often and want protected to preserve their species.
