Welcome to You Ask Andy

Patricia Schulz, age 13, of Enid, Okla., for her question:

HOW DO FLOWERS GET THEIR SCENT?

A sweet smelling flower for many people is one of the great joys of life. Poets through the ages have praised the fragrant blossoms. On important occasions, there isn't anything quite as appealing or as appreciated as a large bouquet of flowers with its special perfume from nature.

Distinctive odors of flowers are, of course, nature's special gift. The smell we enjoy in most flowers comes from special kinds of essence, or oils, that the plant makes within itself.

You'll find a family resemblance between most flower scents, especially when they are made by related plants. A11 roses, for example, have similar pleasing and delicate odors, although each is distinctive.

The oil from flowers is a complicated compound of two elements  carbon and hydrogen  with sometimes a little oxygen. This type of compound is often called the volatile oil. Volatile simply means flying, and the oil is known to readily escape into the air and move about in it.

Did you know that some flowers smell sweeter at night than they do during the day?

Flowers that become especially, fragrant at night attract certain types of night flying moths. The moths land or. the sweet blossoms, collect pollen from one along with some nectar and then rub the pollen off on another flower and thus fertilize it.

The, special partnership between plants and animals is, of course, very noticeable between lots of flying insects and many of the flower producing shrubs, trees and grasses. The fact that the flowers have a pleasant scent plays an important part in the game.

Insects are attracted to a blossom by its color, shape, nectar or scent  with scent being an especially favorable attracting device. Once on the flower they can get on with the important job of carrying fertilizing pollen from one blossom to another.

Most garden roses are the result of development by careful breeding. Along with beautiful blossoms that are both full and colorful, the breeders attempt to capture an

especially fragrant scent. Sight and smell go together to present the total picture of a rose.

 

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