Blue - Blue in Nature

Blue in Nature

• Lactarius indigo, or the blue milk mushroom

• Cornflower

• Myosotis, or Forget-me-not

• Blue seeds of the Ravenala tree from Madagascar

• The Morpho peleides butterfly. The blue is caused by iridescence, the diffraction of light from millions of tiny scales on the wings. The colour is intended to frighten predators.

• River kingfisher

• Linckia Blue starfish

• Blue sapphire, a gemstone of the mineral corundum. Trace amounts of iron colour it blue; if there are traces of chromium instead, it has a red tint and is called a ruby.

• Dried crystals of copper sulphate

• Blueberries

• Dendrobates azureus, the poison dart frog from Brazil. Its skin contains alkaloids which can paralyze or kill predators.

• Blue Jay

• A blue whale, the largest known animal to have ever existed, seen from above. The back is a pale blue grey.