Why are there so few blue flowers and why are they important?

So why do people love blue so much? Why are so few plants and animals blue?

Scientists have investigated this issue and concluded that blue pigmentation is rare in part because plants with this color are difficult to reproduce. Besides, blue flowers are very rare, partly due to the limitations of the human eye’s ability to see. For bees, blue flowers are very attractive and finding them is not difficult.< /p>

The History of the Blue Fascination

Today many people love the color blue Not only that, this hobby is also very popular in ancient cultures. The combination of the love of green with the rarity of green pigments in nature leads to something surprising from ancient times. Nowadays, people are always on a journey to find this favorite color.

The ancient Egyptians loved it very much. blue flowers like the blue lotus and they work very hard to decorate objects with blue. They used an enchanting synthetic color we now call Egyptian blue to color vases and jewelry and blue gemstones such as lapis lazuli and turquoise to decorate their important decorations including King Tutankhamun’s mask.

Blue fabric dye is very popular today, but its origin dates back to ancient Peru where an indigo dye was used to color cotton fabric about 6,000 years ago. Blue dye Indigo passed through India to Europe in the sixteenth century and this dye and the plants from which it was produced became extremely important commodities. That love of blue is still evident to this day, most specifically in blue jeans and shirts.

Renaissance painters in Europe Au used turquoise to create dazzling works that captivated people’s hearts.

Today people can create create countless blue colors thanks to synthetic colorants or optical effects.

Why do people love blue so much?

What colors people like are often created by factors in their living environment. From an ecological perspective, people’s love of blue can be explained because blue is the color of the sky and clean waters are a sign of healthy living conditions.</ span>

Besides the sky and blue waters like lakes and oceans, blue is quite rare in nature. 

We recognize colors thanks to our eyes and brain. Our visual system basically has 3 types of cone photoreceptors, each receiving light of different wavelengths (red, green and green). blue). The brain then compares information from these receptors to determine color.

For flowers pollinated by insects, especially by bees, the interesting thing that researchers have found is that they have different color spectrums to the human eye. Bees have photoreceptors that are sensitive to wavelengths ultraviolet blue and green, in addition they also like blueish colors. The reason why they like this bluish color is still an issue that needs to be researched separately.

< p>The importance of understanding blue flowers

One-third of the food we eat This is due to insects pollinating plants. However, the number of bees and other beneficial insects is decreasing rapidly, most likely due to climate change, changes in habitats and the way humans do agriculture, among others. other factors caused by humans.

The ability of trees to produce green flowers is related to the level of land use Human-induced factors such as artificial insemination, grazing and mowing have reduced the production of blue flowers. Conversely, harsher natural environments seem to produce more blue flowers to provide resilience and resilience.

For example, even though it is obvious that blue flowers are rare in nature, researchers still observe We see that in difficult conditions such as in the high Himalayas, there are still more blue flowers than we think. This shows that in harsh environments plants have to “invest” a lot to attract a small number of bees to help pollinate flowers. Blue flowers seem to exist as the most effective “advertisement” to attract bees when competition for pollination is very high.

Understanding more about blue flowers will help protect bees

Urban environments are also important habitats for Insects that pollinate flowers include bees. Having bee-friendly gardens that include green flowers that both people and bees love is one way to help create a sustainable future. Basically, plant trees and maintain a diversity of flowers and the flower pollinators will come.