木芙蓉Cotton Rose

木芙蓉最有意思的地方在于它会「变色」。清晨初开时花瓣近乎纯白，随着日光渐强转为粉色，到了傍晚已是深红。所以同一株树上常常白、粉、红三色同挂——那其实是同一批花处在一天中的不同时刻。The most interesting thing about the cotton rose is that it changes colour. When a flower opens in the early morning its petals are almost pure white; as the sun grows stronger they turn pink, and by evening they are deep red. That is why white, pink and red flowers often hang on the same shrub — they are flowers at different moments of the same day.

这种变化来自花瓣中花青素的逐步积累，温度和光照越强，转色越快。它的拉丁种名 mutabilis 就是「易变的」的意思。The change comes from anthocyanin pigments building up in the petals; the warmer and brighter it is, the faster they turn. Its Latin species name, mutabilis, means “changeable”.