Hobbies And Interests
Flower Reproduction
Flowers lure pollinators to their nectar. Their design causes the feeding creature to rub against pollen. When the pollinator brushes compatible pollen on the female stigma, fertilization occurs, resulting in viable seeds.
The Use of Scent
Pollinators, such as hummingbirds, butterflies and bees, have favorite scents. Flowers attract specific pollinators--this helps assure that pollen gets to the right species of flower.
Targetted Scents
Some flowering plants, including many orchids, only attract one kind of pollinator. Scent determines which pollinator.
Carrion Flowers
Not all flower scents are sweet to humans. The Singapore Science Centre explains, "A number of flowers attract flies by imitating the colour and smell of rotting flesh." One example is the Rafflesia arnoldii, a tropical parasitic flowering plant known to have the largest flowers in the world. It has a scent people find unpleasant.
Moth Brain Responses to Scent
University of Arizona at Tucson researchers monitored the brains of tobacco hornworm moths. "To find food, the moths must recognize the faintest whiff of datura smell and then track the scent upwind to the flower." The moths showed a neural response to 9 of the more than 60 chemicals in the sacred datura's scent. All nine must be present to attract the moth.