Hobbies And Interests
Distinctive Smell
Certain flowers emit a distinctive smell meant to attract a specific pollinator. This is part of the process of creating a relationship between a flower species and a pollinator like an insect. The insect can identify all members of the species by the same smell, thus enabling it to locate the flower wherever it grows. Flowers waste less pollen with one type of pollinator while the insect has the flower all to itself as a source of food.
Tricks
Some flowers send out a false smell that attracts a certain pollinator that is lured to the plant by an unlikely odor. An example is the red trillium, a wildflower with a beautiful deep red color. People who smell the flower report that its odor is like that of rotting flesh. The odor attracts flies that respond to that smell. The flies arrive, only to find a beautiful flower instead of rotting flesh. In addition to the odor, flies respond to the red color and eat the pollen of the red trillium.
Pheromones
The Ophrys orchid is a tropical plant whose flowers smell like the female of a certain wasp species. The sex pheromone smell attracts male wasps to the flower. The male wasp senses the flower is a female wasp and goes from flower to flower only to find it is not. In the process, the male wasp transfers pollen and becomes a pollinator based upon the pheromone smell.
Night Smells
Certain pollinators come out only at night. They generally have poor vision, which, combined with the lack of light, requires them to possess a keen sense of smell. Certain flowers send out a strong smell at night to attract these pollinators. An example is the moth. Flowers with white or pale colors that only open at night emit a sweet smell that attracts the moth. Another example is the bat. It is nocturnal and is attracted to flowers with musty odors that open at night and are large enough to accommodate the bat's head.