Pointillist structural color in Pollia fruit
University of Cambridge · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · +2 more institutions
Abstract
Biological communication by means of structural color has existed for at least 500 million years. Structural color is commonly observed in the animal kingdom, but has been little studied in plants. We present a striking example of multilayer-based strong iridescent coloration in plants, in the fruit of Pollia condensata. The color is caused by Bragg reflection of helicoidally stacked cellulose microfibrils that form multilayers in the cell walls of the epicarp. We demonstrate that animals and plants have convergently evolved multilayer-based photonic structures to generate colors using entirely distinct materials. The bright blue coloration of this fruit is more intense than that of any previously described…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 34.74
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 34
Authors
9Topics & keywords
- Structural coloration
- Iridescence
- Reflection (computer programming)
- Optics
- Stack (abstract data type)
- Materials science
- Light reflection
- Layer (electronics)
- Life in Land