These 16 Flowers Look Like Something Else

These flowers, as a reproductive organ, evolved with one primary purpose in mind – to attract pollinators like insects or birds. This function has driven their astounding evolutionary explosion of distinct colors and shapes, some of which have even come to resemble various recognizable figures, plants or animals.

Calceolaria uniflora (C. darwinii) is distantly related to Foxglove and Gesneriads. It is an evergreen, perennial species that makes a rosette of small, tongue-shaped leaves. Over time the plant multiplies into a small colony. The genus name Calceolaria means "little shoe", referring to the slipper-shaped blooms. These unusual flowers appear throughout the summer. The pouch-like blooms are about 2 inches tall, and are suspended from 4-5 inch tall stems. They have a white band across the open "mouth", with burgundy markings above and below it. A local species of bird likes to eat the white part of the blooms. This is a good thing, because it's how the flowers get pollinated!