Bird-of-Paradise Plant

Now here is an example of beauty that has evolved to be both aesthetic (for humans) and functional/utilitarian (for the flowers and the birds). Not only does the Bird of Paradise Plant look like an avian Greater Bird-of-Paradise, its design actually encourages an ingenuous method of pollination by the appropriate bird!

According to its Wikipedia profile, “The flowers stand above the foliage at the tips of long stalks. The hard, beak-like sheath from which the flower emerges is the spathe. This is placed perpendicular to the stem, which gives it the appearance of a bird’s head and beak; it makes a durable perch for holding the sunbirds which pollinate the flowers. The flowers, which emerge one at a time from the spathe, consist of three brilliant orange sepals and three purplish-blue petals. Two of the blue petals are joined together to form an arrow-like nectary. When the sunbirds sit to drink the nectar, the petals open to cover their feet in pollen.”¹

Source Credits:

¹ Strelitzia reginae (en.wikipedia.org)