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Animals’ jaundice pigment found in plants

Bilirubin turns up as eye-popping orange in tropical seeds

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

The pigment bilirubin, long known as a leftover in the breakdown of animal blood, has turned up in the blood-free world of plants.

ORANGE ORIGIN A close-up of the waxy orange tufts on seeds (lying inside their segmented capsule) from the white bird of paradise tree shows the intense color of a pigment now identified as bilirubin.