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Without a doubt, plants are truly the most beautiful sights of nature. While some grace us with fruit or vegetables, others give us beautiful flowers to look at. This flower, for example, looks exactly like cute little hummingbirds!
Crotalaria Cunninghamii
Crotalaria cunninghamii, also known as the “green birdflower” or the “hummingbird flower,” mostly grows in Western Australia and can reach 60 inches in length. You can easily see why it has earned the nicknames it has! The flowers look almost precisely like hummingbirds when viewed from a certain angle. While some on the internet hypothesized that the plant might look like that to protect itself, it is merely a coincidence. After all, there are no hummingbirds in Australia! Still, plant experts say that the shape does help attract bugs—however, it’s more than just a pretty flower. The Crotalaria Cunninghamii has quite the history…
One of the most famous plants in all of Australia, the Crotalaria Cunninghamii has been used on the continent for centuries. Originally, the aboriginal’s used it as a source of medicine, mostly the sap for infections. They also used it for toolmaking, as the plant’s fibers are incredibly strong. Now, thousands of years later, the flower has found a brand-new life online!
Flowers That Look Like Hummingbirds
While Crotalaria Cunninghamii’s beautiful flowers have become popular online, botanists do not necessarily share the view. As scientist Michael Whitehead explained, the flower only grows in very remote regions of Australia’s western deserts, making it very hard to study. Worse, due to its dangerous location, some have become hurt while trying to take photos of the now-iconic flowers.
Sadly, the plant can also prove very dangerous to animals in the event that they eat them. “They are generally small to medium shrubs or herbaceous species and are known as “rattlepods” because the seeds are loose in the pods,” wrote the Australian Native Plants Society. “Some species contain toxins which accumulate in the liver and produce long-term damage which is often fatal.”
While the plant might not have evolved from birds and be unsafe, there’s no denying its inherent beauty. So, as long as humans can appreciate them while remaining safe, there’s nothing wrong. And who knows what exciting plant will catch the internet’s eye in the future?
Sources: HouseBeautiful, IcePop
