英语时差：人造花（上）

There’s nothing more artificial than artificial flowers, right? Whereas real flowers have been around for millions and millions of years, artificial flowers are a purely human invention. They’ve been on this Earth only thousands of years, right? At any rate, you’d never expect to see an artificial flower growing in a wooded glen, right alongside its natural flower neighbors. Well look again. There’s a type of mustard plant, called “Arabis holboellii,” which naturally grows a dainty, light blue flower atop its narrow stem. Without a doubt, these are natural flowers. But wait. Sometimes you’ll see an Arabis holboellii sporting a bright yellow cluster of leaves that looks suspiciously like a buttercup. What’s going on?