This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing:

This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing | Grist

grist.org 10 Sep '12, 8pm

This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing:

Pollia condensata looks like it’s wearing holographic nail polish, but it’s a real living fruit that grows that way — in fact, it’s the shiniest living thing in the world . The principle behind P. condensata’s gorgeous finish is basically the same as behind an iridescent beetle’s wings. The cells in the fruit’s husk contain layers of fibers that run parallel to one another, with each layer turned slightly relative to the one beneath it (like this ). Each layer reflects some of the light that hits it, and the spiral structure makes the reflected light waves line up so that they intensify each other. The wavelength of the light may be different from cell to cell, but all of them reflect extra-intensified light. Result: A mixture of really, really bright colors. This type of iridescent coloration was supposed to be reserved for insect wings and bird feathers – P. condensata i...

Full article: http://grist.org/list/surreally-beautiful-fruit-is-the-wo...

Tweets

@tastypursuits » 16 Sep '12, 4pm
RT @ShelleyCHolmes: This is incredible! RT @grist This fruit looks like it’s wearing holographic nail polish: [link] But i ...
@ShelleyCHolmes » 16 Sep '12, 4pm
This is incredible! RT @grist This fruit looks like it’s wearing holographic nail polish: [link] But it really grows that way!
@dsaccardi » 15 Sep '12, 7pm
Here's the world’s shiniest living thing (hint, it's flora): [link] via @Grist
@LimerickMan1 » 15 Sep '12, 4am
@nekocase RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@BlackDogXIII » 13 Sep '12, 7am
[link] "Birds are suckers" (and so are you for listening to Carly Rae Jepsen)
@PaulaADaniels » 11 Sep '12, 10am
The shiniest fruit ever seen [link] From Africa. it really grows that way!
@lwustemann » 11 Sep '12, 7am
How did we manage before Twitter? @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@ComfortablyMari » 11 Sep '12, 6am
It's shiny! Rt@grist: This fruit looks like it’s wearing holographic nail polish: [link] But it really grows that way!
@SadhanaForest » 11 Sep '12, 6am
like Xmas baubbles RT @grist: This fruit looks like it’s wearing holographic nail polish: [link] But it really grows that way!
@AmandaGAdams » 11 Sep '12, 5am
OOooo shiny! RT @grist This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@grist » 11 Sep '12, 4am
This fruit looks like it’s wearing holographic nail polish: [link] But it really grows that way!
@jlatcheson » 11 Sep '12, 2am
Shiny things not related to current events! Enjoy: [link] via @grist #neededthisbeforebed
@dylan_reid » 11 Sep '12, 1am
Wow! RT @drgrist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing [link]
@jschwartz2511 » 11 Sep '12, 1am
So. Shiny. RT @drgrist This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing [link]
@vickiroush » 11 Sep '12, 1am
Make pretty wine? rt “@drgrist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing [link]”
@gorevidolatry » 11 Sep '12, 1am
RT @drgrist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing [link]
@fionoir » 10 Sep '12, 11pm
Ooooh shiny: [link] #magpie
@Sara_Metz » 10 Sep '12, 10pm
Woo shiny things! RT @grist This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@StephenKMackSD » 10 Sep '12, 10pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@gristlist » 10 Sep '12, 8pm
This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing [link]
@ecobalanza » 11 Sep '12, 2am
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@ecologicmedia » 11 Sep '12, 1am
RT @grist This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@AaronMDellutri » 11 Sep '12, 1am
RT @drgrist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing [link]
@jackthecat11 » 11 Sep '12, 1am
RT @drgrist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing [link]
@drgrist » 11 Sep '12, 1am
This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing [link]
@M0X1 » 10 Sep '12, 11pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@Kiarash_Becheur » 10 Sep '12, 11pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@gastroconomy » 10 Sep '12, 11pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@RenAgain » 10 Sep '12, 11pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@NewEconomy_ca » 10 Sep '12, 11pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@SweetAsMagPie » 10 Sep '12, 11pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@MJGarciaKCMO » 10 Sep '12, 11pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@catherine_m_ » 10 Sep '12, 11pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@01CindyLee » 10 Sep '12, 10pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@mattknutzen » 10 Sep '12, 10pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@RealFoodChoice » 10 Sep '12, 10pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@Darrcian » 10 Sep '12, 10pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@prometheogen » 10 Sep '12, 10pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
» 10 Sep '12, 10pm
RT @grist: This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]
@grist » 10 Sep '12, 10pm
This surreally beautiful fruit is the world’s shiniest living thing: [link]