Plant Found In China Evolved To Become Less Visible to Humans

A plant commonly found on the rocky slopes of Hengduan mountains in China has evolved to become less visible, turning its color from bright green to gray, matching the rocks in the areas where it is heavily harvested.

Fritillaria delavayi has been growing in China for thousands of years and is used in traditional medicine. But the plant has vanished from sight, camouflaging with the rocks due to its growing commercial harvesting. It has now become less visible to the human eye so that it cannot be easily seen by pickers.

That means humans have become the driving force for their evolution, changing colors to protect themselves and have a higher chance of surviving the harsh world, according to Science Daily.

Dramatic Effect on Plant Evolution

The study, published in Current Biology, was conducted by scientists from the Kunming Institute of Botany (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and the University of Exeter found how humans can affect the evolution of plants.

The researchers measured how closely the plants from varying populations matched their backgrounds in the mountain and how easy they were to collect. They also interviewed people to estimate how the harvesting of these plants took place in each location.

Based on the computer experiment, it takes more time to harvest camouflaged plants, which suggests the influence of people in the rapid evolution of this species into forming a new color, The Guardian reported.

Professor Martin Stevens, of the University of Exeter's Center for Ecology and Conservation, said that it is remarkable that humans have such direct influence on the coloration of wild organisms such as the Fritillaria delavayi plant, not just for their survival but as part of the plant evolution in general.

Camouflage is a defense mechanism employed by many organisms from the animal kingdom to the plants to hide from predators, or in this case the pickers. Humans have indeed driven the evolution of defensive strategies in some plant species, which is surprising that not many studies are conducted about them.

The Fritillaria delavayi Plant

The Fritillaria delavayi plant grows flowers once a year after the fifth year. Its leaves may vary in color: brown, green, or gray. Also, it is part of the Chinese traditional medicine wherein its bulb has been used for over 2,000 years and is said to be very expensive as its popularity increased these past few years.

Since it has become known to many, there is also a spike in its harvesting that threatens the plants. Dr. Yang Niu of the Kunming Institute of Botany said that at first, they thought herbivores caused the camouflaging evolution of the Fritillaria delavayi plant. But then realized it was the humans.

Commercial harvesting of this species is a stronger selection pressure than some natural pressures that prompt evolution in the plant. Currently, the biodiversity of the Earth is shaped by nature and by humans.