Toyota Creates Flowers To Absorb Prius Manufacturing Emissions

What do you do when the “eco-friendly” car you’re manufacturing is actually horrible for the environment to manufacture? Re-engineer nature, obviously!

Toyota, whose Prius is easy on the environment to drive but horrible on it to make, has engineered a new type of flower to help shoulder some of the damage their factories are spitting out.

The sage derivative’s leaves have unique characteristics that absorb harmful gases, while the gardenia’s leaves create water vapour in the air, reducing the surface temperature of the factory surrounds and, therefore, reducing the energy needed for cooling, in turn producing less carbon dioxide (CO2).

Well, holy shit. That is pretty insane. [Drive via Treehugger]