Why Blueberries Appear Blue Outside But Have A Different Colour Inside

Those who have eaten a ripe blueberry must have observed that the blue colour on the outside does not match the dark and reddish purple hue on its inside

The outer layering of the fruit does not, however, necessarily contain the blue pigments.

According to research published in the Science News Explores, the outer covering of the blueberry is just a wax coat that appears to be blue.

Rox Middleton and her team have found these conclusions in their research.

Middleton is a physicist who works at the University of Bristol in England and Dresden University of Technology in Germany.

This wax on the outer covering contains many tiny structures, each less than a thousandth the thickness of a piece of paper.

Such nanostructures scatter blue and ultraviolet (UV) light and thus the fruits appear to our eyes as blue.

Birds can see the UV light and may probably see such fruits as bluey-UV. Blue is not a commonly seen colour in nature.

More

Stories