In daily life, the most frequently heard answer to the question about people’s favorite color is “blue”. Why do humans like blue so much? Why is it so rare in the plant world?
Scientists have studied the problem and concluded that blue flowers are very rare, at least in part because plants have a hard time producing the blue pigment, which may have evolved only when there is a real benefit, especially when the flowers attract bees or other things. pollinating insects.
At the same time, we also found that the scarcity of blue flowers is due to the limitations of our own eyes, and that attractive blue flowers can be “ordinary” from a bee’s point of view.
History of Blue Pigment Charm The
ancient Egyptians were so obsessed with blue flowers, eg: blue lotus, that they would go out of their way to use blue to decorate items, and they used a beautiful synthetic pigment (now called Egyptian blue) on vases Color jewelry and quasi-gem-grade lapis lazuli and turquoise to adorn important artifacts, including the mask of Tutankhamun.
The modern use of blue dye for fabric making is very common, but in fact the process originated in ancient Peru. About 6,000 years ago, a type of indigo dye was used to color cotton fabrics. Indigo dye was introduced to Europe from India in the 16th century. The production of blue dye and related plants became important commodities. Their impact on human fashion and cultural development It is still really felt to this day, and perhaps the most obvious is the blue jeans and shirt.
European Renaissance painters used lapis lazuli to create dazzling works of art, and many of today’s blues are created using modern synthetic pigments or optical effects. In 2015, photos of blue/gold dresses that went viral on the Internet showed not only that blue is gorgeous, but that color, like certain wavelengths of light, is a product of human perception.
Why do humans like blue so much?
Humans’ preference for color is usually influenced by important environmental factors in life. The ecological explanation for the general human preference for blue is that blue is the color of clear sky and clear water, which is a sign of a good living environment, except for the sky and water. , blue is relatively rare in nature.
Are blue flowers rare?
Using a new online plant database to compare the frequency of blue flowers with other colored flowers, we found that blue was not present in flowers that were pollinated without the intervention of bees or other insects (known as abiotic pollination).
But when we looked at flowers that need to attract bees and other insects to spread their pollen, we saw some blue flowers. This suggests that blue flowers evolved for efficient pollination, and even then, blue flowers are relatively rare, meaning it is difficult for plants to make blue pigments, which may be an important marker of plant pollinators’ adaptation to the environment.
The way we perceive color is determined by the way our eyes and brain work. The human visual system usually has 3 cone-shaped photoreceptors that capture different wavelengths (red, green, and blue) of light from the visible spectrum. The brain then compares and analyzes these sensory information, resulting in a perceptual analysis of color.
Insects that pollinate flowers, especially bees, have color vision completely different from humans. Bees have photoreceptors that are sensitive to ultraviolet, blue, and green wavelengths. They also show a special preference for “blue.” The reasons for the preference for blue flowers remain an area of intense study.
Why is it important to understand blue flowers?
According to statistics, about 1/3 of human food depends on insect pollination. However, the number of bees and other pollinating insects in nature continues to decrease, which may be caused by climate change, habitat destruction, expansion of agricultural cultivation and other human factors.
The ability of flowering plants to produce blue pigment is related to land-use intensity, which includes human factors such as artificial fertilization, grazing, and mowing that reduce the frequency of blue flowers. By contrast, environments with more stress to survive appeared to have more blue flowers.
Although blue flowers are very rare in nature, we have observed that under harsh conditions such as the Himalayas, there are more blue flowers than expected, which means that in harsh environments, plants may have to attract the few available, essential bee pollinators. Therefore, when there are more pollinators in nature, blue flowers attract the most attention of pollinators such as bees.
Knowing more about blue flowers helps protect bees
Urban environments are important habitats for pollinating insects such as bees, and providing bees with a beautiful garden, as well as growing brilliant blue flowers, will contribute to a sustainable green environment in the future.
