

Human: What makes flowers smell and why do different types of flowers have different scents?

Assistant: Flowers do smell, not just to attract insects and other animals to pollinate them, but to help with courtship and intraspecies communication.  Different flowers have different scents because they have evolved different types of chemical compounds that give off the scents, and specific individual flowers develop particular scents because they have evolved specific compounds in particular concentrations over time.


Human: What makes flowers smell and why do different types of flowers have different scents?

Assistant: Flowers produce their smell or “scent” as a way to attract insects that spread their pollen.  Different types of plants produce scents that give out different signals about the flower, as different insects prefer different scents.  Different insects are attracted to different scents because the smells indicate that the insects can find food, water, or a suitable mating partner nearby.  Flowers also produce scents to attract diverse groups of insects to help their plants make more seeds.  For example, certain types of flowers produce scents that attract bugs that will help the flowers produce more flowers.  In contrast, other flowers have scents that attract insects that help the flowers make seeds.
What makes flowers smell and why do different types of flowers have different scents?
Flowers do smell, not just to attract insects and other animals to pollinate them, but to help with courtship and intraspecies communication.  Different flowers have different scents because they have evolved different types of chemical compounds that give off the scents, and specific individual flowers develop particular scents because they have evolved specific compounds in particular concentrations over time.
Flowers produce their smell or “scent” as a way to attract insects that spread their pollen.  Different types of plants produce scents that give out different signals about the flower, as different insects prefer different scents.  Different insects are attracted to different scents because the smells indicate that the insects can find food, water, or a suitable mating partner nearby.  Flowers also produce scents to attract diverse groups of insects to help their plants make more seeds.  For example, certain types of flowers produce scents that attract bugs that will help the flowers produce more flowers.  In contrast, other flowers have scents that attract insects that help the flowers make seeds.