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There are days when you want to be invisible and hide from the prying eyes of others.
This is probably what happened to the Lu Bei lily plant.
The plant has been a special remedy in Chinese medicine for more than 2000 years.
People are particularly after their onions.
In recent years, this has achieved ever higher prices of up to 400 euros per kilogram, which in turn has led to increased harvests.
The herb that grows in the Himalayan mountains apparently no longer just wanted to accept it.
Therefore, in the regions where it is collected a lot, the color has adapted to the rocky surroundings:
In order to be less visible, Lu Bei disguises himself as a stone and has taken on a gray-brown color.
It was known that we humans increase the selection pressure in animals so that they change characteristics.
Yang Niu and his colleagues from the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Exeter have now observed this phenomenon in a plant for the first time.
Well, where is the well-camouflaged Lu Bei?
Source: Yang Niu
It is amazing what direct and dramatic influence humans can have on the coloration of wild organisms - not only on their survival, but also on their development themselves.
Martin Stevens, Professor of Sensory and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Exeter
For years, scientists have studied the development and evolution of alpine plants.
They noticed the different colors of Fritillaria delavayi.
Since the researchers were aware of their importance as a medicinal plant, they asked themselves whether the human passion for collecting could actually be responsible for it.
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Yang Niu and his team were able to rule out animals as the cause.
For one thing, they found no bite marks on Lu Bei.
On the other hand, animals tend to avoid the herb because it produces alkaloids.
In high doses, these chemical compounds are toxic.
Ironically, humans collect F. delavayi precisely because of these active ingredients.
Some alkaloids are used in medicines because they are antibacterial and antiviral.
Others such as nicotine or morphine have a euphoric or stimulating effect, which is why they are also extremely popular with us humans.
With its gray-brown color, this specimen of Fritillaria delavayi blends perfectly with its stone environment
Source: Yang Niu
In order to find out whether humans actually caused the color change, the researchers analyzed for their study how well Lu Bei camouflages itself in which surroundings and how easy it is to find it there.
They also asked locals exactly where and to what extent they picked the plant.
The result: human behavior actually determines the degree of camouflage.
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Specifically, this means that where F. delavayi is difficult to access, it develops the original green leaves and yellow flowers.
Where it is easy to find, it adapts to its surroundings with a gray-brown shade.
To check this result, test subjects should find well camouflaged Lu Bei on photos.
In fact, it took the participants much longer to discover the plants.
The researchers suspect that the successful camouflage could also come at a price.
In the mountains, pollinators such as bees and bumblebees are relatively rare.
In order to be seen better by the few, Lu Bei probably developed the bright green.
Well camouflaged, however, it could be visited less often.
Yang Niu and his team want to clarify this hypothesis with further investigations.
Since humans may have driven the evolution of other plants as well, they also encourage fellow researchers to look for examples like this.