Now In Existence, Sort Of: Blue Roses

By Evan Ackerman

Yes, I know, you’ve made blue roses before by sticking a white rose in some blue food coloring and waiting a day or two. Bully for you. But up until now, naturally blue roses have been an impossibility, for the simple reason that rose petals lack the enzyme necessary to produce the color blue. Naturally blue roses may still be an impossibility, but a little bit of clever genetic engineering has enabled researchers in Japan to stick some blue petunia enzymes into some naturally purple roses to end up with something actually blue.

Or, blue-ish.

It’s got some blue in it, anyway.

In the same way that yellow roses signify friendship and red roses signify love, blue roses signify the impossible, and I kinda think that still holds true, ’cause they look rather purple to me. You should be able to buy a more or less blue rose for that certain impossible someone early next year.

VIA [ Daily Mail ]