My neighbor's prize rose bush taught me something unexpected yesterday

I was helping my 72 year old neighbor prune her roses in Portland when she casually mentioned that the red pigment in rose petals comes from the same chemical compound as freeze-dried strawberries. We looked it up together on her old iPad and apparently cyanidin-3-glucoside is the exact molecule that gives both their color. Has anyone else stumbled across a weird botanical fact that just popped up in real life?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_dixon671mo ago

Strawberries and roses are in the same family, Rosaceae, so it actually makes sense chemically. It's still pretty wild that the same molecule colors both petals and fruit though. Now I'm gonna start looking at red flowers and wondering what other foods share their pigments.

tylerr391mo ago

Totally. I started checking veggies after I found that blueberries and huckleberries are basically the same plant, just different types.

aaron_ellis4213d ago

Honestly once you start noticing these hidden connections it's hard to stop. Like I look at the red in a tomato and can't help but think it's the same stuff giving color to chili peppers and some autumn leaves. Tbh it makes grocery shopping feel like a weird little scavenger hunt for botanical relatives.