Depending on the angle of sight they were a blackish purple, like the skin of an eggplant, or inky black, fully devoid of color. In bud the emerging flowers looked like glistening drops of coal oil, and when opened they presented a tubular bell of black satin. We parked our vehicle and began the process of preparing specimens for the herbarium and laboratory. On returning from our fieldwork we connected with Dr. Kenneth Markham of the New Zealand Institute for Industrial Research and Development, the foremost authority on floral pigments of lisianthius and its relatives. With our samples he decoded what pigment molecules are at play in the black tubular blossom.
Flavonoids are water-soluble and are found in the vacuoles of plant cells.
A number of flavonoids are known. Anthocyanins bring red, blue, and purple coloring to flowers such as delphiniums, geraniums, and roses and such fruits as grapes and plums. Other flavonoids, such as aurones, flavonals, and flavones, are responsible for cream or yellow pigmentation. Dr. Markham found two anthocyanin pigments. Other flavonoids were also found and may be serving to enhance color intensity.