OMG

There's A Plant That Has Flower Petals That Look Just Like Tiny Hummingbirds

By Anthony Larson

Updated on November 12, 2021

A Reddit user has brightened our day by sharing a pretty fascinating photograph—a green flower that resembles a collection of hummingbirds!

No one will ever be able to get enough of nature. There're so many beautiful things hidden in secret corners of the outdoors. If you get a chance to find some of them, you'd surely be fascinated,

One Reddit user named OctopusPrime recently shared a photo of an unusual looking plant, and the internet instantly caught fire.

In the palm of someone's hand, what appears to be an origami hummingbird is actually a flower.

The photograph sits under the subReddit NatureIsF**kingLit, and it shows a green flower that somehow looks like it's a group of hummingbirds—only that they're so tiny!

The author commented on the photo, "check out these beautiful flowers that look like tiny hummingbirds!"

And instantly, everyone was wondering where this plant came from and what benefit it received from looking like a bird.

The image had the entire internet fascinated by it.

there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds

The post was such a hit that it garnered over 47.5k upvotes and over 400 comments, with many users questioning the flower's legitimacy.

Luckily, fellow Redditor, SolitaryBee, a post-doc scientist studying flower evolution, was able to shed some light on the situation.

there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds

The plant in question is called the green flowerbird or regal flowerbird (crotalaria cunninghamii).

there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds

This flower is a member of the legume family. It includes chickpeas and alfalfa and is native to inland northern Australia. It thrives along sandy dunes.

Some still had confusion about the flower hummingbird, but thankfully others quickly provided their answers.

there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds
there's a plant that has flower petals that look just like tiny hummingbirds

Many users associated the flowers' shape with an adaptive evolutionary development. However, as SolitaryBee helpfully pointed out, this couldn't possibly be the case.

The scientist explained:

"The fact that the flower looks like a bird to humans cannot have evolved adaptively because, as a signal receiver, there is nothing humans could have done to increase the fitness of individuals that evolved this signal (to look like a bird). Unless indigenous Australians in arid Australia bred or traded the plant because it looks like a bird."

Growing well in a sandy place, the hummingbird looking flower can be found along beaches, dunes, and in Mulga communities.

The Aboriginal people back then used the green birdflower to treat eye infections, according to a study.