The color of the flowers keeps a secret from the inside As it has been announced in an international study where they point out that their invisible pigments have a function that goes beyond aesthetics, because it helps them in their Survival and reproduction.
The study has analyzed 926 species of plants that are pollinated by animals from South Spain, California and Southeast Brazil with the idea of understanding which species of Flower pigments are more common And which functions they fulfill in different environmental contexts.
«After their clear colors, flowers contain invisible pigments in the human eye that protect them against the sun and play a key role in the Communication with pollinators«, Point out those responsible for this work led by researchers from the Pablo de Olavide universities (UPO) and Sevilla (US)
The color of flowers, beyond aesthetics
An international study led by researchers from the universities Pablo de Olavide (UPO) and Sevilla (US) has revealed that flowers, beyond their colorful appearance, are hosts that perform important functions in their survival and reproduction.
As reported on Tuesday, the UPO in a statement, under the apparent simplicity of a flower, is therefore a “complex survival strategy”. After their bright colors, flowers contain invisible pigments in the human eye that protect them against the sun and play a key role in communication with pollinators.
The study, developed by a multidisciplinary team with the participation of institutions from Spain, the United States and Brazil, It has analyzed 926 species of pollinations by animals from South Spain, California and Southeast Brazil. The goal was to understand which types of Flower pigments They are more common and what functions they perform in various environmental contexts.
The most surprising finding of work was the general presence of the so -driven ‘phenylpropanoids’ Ultraviolet Radaling -absorption companies (Uaps). These connections, invisible to the human eye but detectable by insects such as bees, are present in all flowers studied.
‘Dark matter’ of flowers
According to researchers, those ‘uaps’ can be considered a kind of ‘dark matter’ flowers. They may also be essential for their protection against ultraviolet radiation and also useful to attract pollinators, But whose exact function is still unknown.
In addition to these invisible pigments, the study shows that more than half of the species investigated contained the so -called ‘anthocyans’, responsible for red, pink and blue colors, a third ‘carotenoids’ (yellow and orange) and some even ‘chloric film’ (green), although many flowers combine different pigments.
The international cooperation of scientists who conducted the research has made it possible to compare distant flowers with the same method, which reveals Common patterns in the frequency of floral pigments.
One of the most relevant aspects of the study is that, despite the differences between environmental conditions and pollinators –Insects in Spain and insects and hummingbirds in California and Brazil Of the three regions studied, the composition of flower pigments was surprisingly comparable among them.
The results of this work offer a new perspective on the role of pigments in ecology and evolution of flowers.
«This study helps us to better understand how flowers balance the need to attract pollinators with the need for protect against stressful environmental conditions«, Professor Eduardo Narbonne explained. In addition to its aesthetic attraction, flowers are therefore unveiled as ‘very advanced organs’, whose visible beauty is only the tip of the iceberg of a complex network of invisible evolutionary adjustments. EFE / ECOTICIA.COM