This Strange Plant Has Flowers with Petals Shaped Like Hummingbirds

The shape of the Crotalaria cunninghamii flower is actually owed to a common anatomical trait of legumes. Many have Papilionaceous flowers, which are characterized by irregular clusters of five petals and a large upper petal known as a banner. While Darwin hypothesized that the unusual shape developed under the selective pressure of bee pollinators, this doesn't mean that bees themselves think they're pollinating birds. If that was the case, the plant would never have survived.

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