homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Skeleton flower turns translucent when it comes in contact with water

This rare flower's petals are usually white, but turn translucent (their "skeleton" form) when exposed to water. Being completely clear and of striking, glass-like beauty while wet, they turn white again when they dry off.

Alexandru Micu
July 26, 2015 @ 10:07 am

share Share

The Diphylleia Grayi flower is also known as the Skeleton Flower and while at first glance it may appear an ordinary bloom, there is actually something quite extraordinary about it.

Just an ordinary flower.
Image via interflora.com.au

This rare flower’s petals are usually white, but turn translucent (their “skeleton” form) when exposed to water. Being completely clear and of striking, glass-like beauty while wet, they turn white again when they dry off.

Image via interflora.com.au

Found in only three locations in the world, the flower hails from the moist wooded mountainsides in the colder regions of China and Japan, and within the United States’ Appalachian Mountains. It grows to a height of 0.4 metres and up to one metre wide. In addition to its transformation capabilities, the flower is also recognized by its large, umbrella-like leaves and bright green and yellow centers. 

For some cool flower time-lapses, be sure to read The Explosive Blooms of the Echinopsis Cactus Flowers.

 

share Share

Your Breathing Is Unique and Can Be Used to ID You Like a Fingerprint

Your breath can tell a lot more about you that you thought.

This Self-Assembling Living Worm Tower Might Be the Most Bizarre Escape Machine

The worm tower behaves like a superorganism.

Scientists Created an STD Fungus That Kills Malaria-Carrying Mosquitoes After Sex

Researchers engineer a fungus that kills mosquitoes during mating, halting malaria in its tracks

Scientists Made a Battery Powered by Probiotics That's Completely Biodegradable

Scientists have built a battery powered by yogurt microbes that dissolves after use.

These Bacteria Exhale Electricity and Could Help Fight Climate Change

Some E. coli can survive by pushing out electrons instead of using oxygen

How Dandelions Break Through Concrete With Nothing but Willpower (and Physics)

Whether you think of it as a weed or a bit of nature in the city, a dandelion has impressive survival skills.

This Shape-Shifting Parasite Eats Human Cells and Wears Their Proteins as a Disguise

An amoeba that kills 70,000 people a year is finally yielding its secrets.

Queen bees can hibernate underwater for several days without drowning

This could be a very useful skill in light of current climate events.

The First Teeth Grew on the Skin of 460-Million-Year-Old Fish and Were Never Meant for Chewing

Teeth may have started as ancient sensory tools, not tools for eating.

Plants can "hear" pollinators and make more nectar when there's buzzing around

Plants are not just passive organisms. Snapdragons may not hear exactly, but they respond to pollinator vibrations.