Stone flower that learned to hide from people (6 photos)

A stone flower ... This is not a skillful bowl over which Danila is a master. And quite a real plant that has learned hide from intelligent enemies.





We are talking about Delaway hazel grouse (Fritillaria delavayi) - bulbous a plant native to the Sino-Tibetan Mountains of China. Main part year the flower is in the state of the bulb, and then gives a few leaves and blooms, forming a pretty bud, similar to tulip.



Delaway's hazel grouse

Remarkably, fritillaria forms the first flower only in the fifth year and blooms once a year. In general, the plant is rare and outstanding.

The Chinese have been using fritillaria in folk medicine for hundreds of years - make an antitussive. For the production of a kilogram of the drug you need a lot of bulbs - about 3.5 thousand. Price per kilogram of dry raw materials reach $500. Their extraction is already a whole quest, because you need explore rocky, crumbling slopes with the risk of tripping and falling down.





But demand creates supply, and residents of the mountainous region Hengduan bulb harvesters are willing to take risks. However, collectors unexpectedly encountered a problem - fritillaria has practically disappeared. Botanists became interested in the question and explored all available populations.

The result was unexpected: the flower did not go anywhere, but I just started hiding. Literally - very quickly and dramatically changed color, becoming from delicate and noticeable gray, dull and inconspicuous. In a word, it became like a cobblestone, of which there are countless in the mountains, and blended into the area. Moreover, in other regions of China, where there is no constant search and collection, the plant remains the same.



Puzzled botanists at first thought that in this way the plant camouflages itself from natural enemies so as not to be eaten. However Delaway's hazel grouse is not included in the food supply of local herbivores due to alkaloid content. That is, camouflage is aimed exclusively at enemies with trichromatic vision - on people. Because smell and form, which animals focus on have not changed.

As a result of the use of camouflage, some problems with pollination. But, apparently, the frightened fritillary chose choose the lesser of two evils - either reduce the population or completely disappear. And at the same time she puzzled the researchers and planted food for thoughts and other creatures of our planet.