The world shiniest living things

The small berry of the pollia condensata plant, found across africa , exhibits the most intense blue colour ever seen in a plant . Yet it has no blue pigment . what is the secret behind its striking color?

CONSIDER: The cell wall in the skin of the berry contain tiny threads arranged like rows of matches . These threads form.layers , each layer set off at a slight angle to the layer below ,so that the rising layers form a helical , or spiral , pattern. The thread themselves are not coloured blue. The colour come from the way the thread are stacked . Thus , structure , not pigment , is the key to the berry's intense metallic hue and iridescence . Most cell appear blue . But from different angles, some emit a green , pink, or yellow hue because of subtle changes in the layers . Moreover , when examined closely ,the colours are.smooth and even but appear pixelated like the colours on a computer screen .

Since pollia berries have no pigment , they keep their color even after they drop from the plant . In fact , some berries collected over a century ago look as brilliant as fresh ones! Even though the berry no edible pulb, just seeds., it sends an irrestible signal to nearby bird according the research .
Scientist believe that the pollia berry's pigment -free clour could inspire product ranging from fade -resistant dyes to counterfeit
Reference : awake magazine
Source of images : google -resistant paper