Why are humans attracted to the sight and smell of flowers? Flowers co-evolved with their pollinators: that is why they find flowers attractive. This arrangement works to the benefit of both parties, so do humans get any similar benefits from liking flowers? The plants do, in that gardeners propagate them. Come to think of it, are other mammals attracted to flowers?
鈥� There are many examples of flowers pollinated by bats or rodents, so it is not unusual for mammals to be attracted to flowers. It is also not surprising that our olfactory system has much in common with that of other mammals, so we too are likely to find flowers with mammalian pollinators attractive.
Of course, not all flowers have a scent we find pleasing. Arum flowers, for example, can smell like rotting corpses, while many flowers have no scent at all.
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鈥淣ot all flowers have a pleasing scent. Arum flowers can smell like rotting corpses鈥�
On a related note, some mammals 鈥� particularly primates 鈥� are known to rub highly scented materials over their bodies to try to get rid of parasites in their fur or treat bacterial or fungal skin infections. There is experimental evidence that these practices work. Perhaps our fondness for strong sweet scents is a throwback to using them to protect our skin from such things as parasites.
Peter Scott, Hove, East Sussex, UK
鈥� Evolution uses a variety of mechanisms to ensure animals survive and reproduce. One example might be a fear of heights: if you are not wary of heights you are more likely to fall off a cliff and die, so your genes are less likely to be passed on to the next generation.
Any genes that confer an advantage when it comes to finding food, shelter and mates are likely to improve an animal鈥檚 chances of survival and so will be passed on. If we like flowers, and choose to live in an area where flowering plants grow, we will be rewarded with fruit, and will also have fruit-eating animals to feed on. So being attracted to flowers is an adaptive behaviour.
Perhaps men who show an ability to find flowers are demonstrating that they are brave enough to go into the woods to find them (and their fruit). Maybe that is why women like men who bring them flowers.
Emilio Herrera, Caracas, Venezuela