Scientists recreate nature’s skill of never-fade colour

Scientists have found nature’s way of creating colour that never fades, a technique they say could replace pigments used in industry with natural plant extracts in products from food colouring to security features in bank notes.

Layers of cellulose that reflect specific wavelengths of light — ‘structural colour’ found in peacock feathers, scarab beetles and butterflies — make a particularly intense blue in the Pollia condensata plant, scientists say.

Samples of the fruit in plant collections dating back to the 19th century had not lost any shine or intensity, they found.