'Looks like something out of a movie': People amazed by 'hummingbird' flower
An Australian plant has people amazed due to its uncanny resemblance to a hummingbird.
A photo – which was taken in Exmouth, Western Australia and posted to Reddit – shows a woman holding two flowers from the plant that appear to have a beak, wing and tail.
People are boggled by how much they resemble hummingbirds, despite them not being native to Australia.
Many debated whether the plants came to mimic the hummingbird through evolution or whether it was pure coincidence.
“How is this even possible?” one said.
“Looks like something out of the movie, Annihilation,” another claimed.
A different person questioned if it was just a “freakish coincidence”.
University of Melbourne evolutionary ecologist Dr Michael Whitehead told Yahoo News Australia the plant, known as the green birdflower, likely only appeared to look like a hummingbird to humans.
“There’s no real compelling reason why we should expect them to evolve to appear like birds,” he said.
“It’s very unlikely anything not human would actually see them as a bird.
“It’s easy for humans to see patterns and resemblance.”
Dr Whitehead said the flowers were likely pollinated by birds and the weight of them on the keel, which we see as the hummingbird’s tail, could be what pushed it down to create the incredible shape of the flower.
The flower is mostly found in Australian deserts, but is endangered in NSW as it is only restricted to a small area in the northwest corner of the state.
Dr Whitehead said the plants also suffered being torn up due to small mammals like mice biting through the flowers and feeding on the nectar, but that didn’t contribute to its shape.
According to the Australian Native Plants Society, the flowers are streaked with fine, black lines and sap from the leaves were used by Indigenous Australians to treat eye infections.
It thrives in the position of full sunlight and is damaged by frost so is not suited to cool climates.
Dr Whitehead said the plant was related to the Sturt’s Desert Pea, one of Australia’s best-known wildflowers.
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