this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2024
140 points (99.3% liked)

nature is fucking lit

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The flowers of the Crotalaria cunninghamii plant resemble tiny hummingbirds (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

How does the plant know what hummingbirds looks like?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It doesn't! It evolved this way through natural selection over eons

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

What's the benefit here? attracts more hummings to polinate? Or keeps worms away?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (2 children)

No idea! It's important not to ascribe purpose or intent to beneficial but random mutations. It must do something. Like you're saying, more pollinators or scare away pests etc. Somehow it is evolutionarily beneficial for reproducing with the additional benefit of being sick af

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Or just random coincidence out of millions of different plants and it didn't do anything to harm the plant from spreading.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

that's evolution baby

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago

This is wild