Flower power

How these blooms dominate the plant population and enhance our lives

Why beautiful blooms are so prevalent in the plant kingdom

There are about 369,000 flowering plant species known to grace our planet, making up roughly 94 per cent of all land plants. The flower itself is the seedbearing part of flowering plants, containing the reproductive components. Unable to move from where their seed settled, plants rely on animals and other means of transport, like the wind, to spread their reproductive cells. To do this, they have evolved to become highly efficient charmers. By enticing the right species and deterring those that could destroy them, flowers thrive. Humans are also attracted to them. Drawn to flowers of our favourite colours and shapes, we use these plants to embellish our gardens and garnish our food. We give them as gifts and even copy their smell by spraying floral-scented perfume over our bodies. We view flowers largely as a source of decoration, but the science behind their practical features shows some of their most impressive traits. The intricacies of a flower’s components aren’t all for show. Having co-evolved with different animals, each species has unique shapes, sizes, colours and other features to help it survive. They thrive in their specific habitats with the resources they require, but one of the main reasons that these delicate specimens have done so well is that they too are depended on. Bees are one of the most common pollinators, and have evolved alongside the flowers that they rely on. Their symbiotic relationship means that bees need the flowers’ nectar to survive and pollen to reproduce, while flowers need the bees’ flight to pass on their reproductive cells. Without this method of transport, flowers could only hope that their pollen would blow onto a nearby flower. For millions of years, bees and flowers have evolved to fit the features of the other. The furry coat of many bees now uses electrostatic forces to cover itself in as much pollen as possible, while flowers have taken on the role of a bee service station. Some provide shelter for insects during their stay at the flower and offer sweet, sugary treats to fuel bees for the remainder of their role as pollinators. The power held by flowers came about to keep themselves alive. Being such dominant life forms, flowers are now depended on by the entire planet. Without them, the world wouldn’t just be less colourful: ten per cent of the moisture in the atmosphere comes from plants, with flowering plants being the most efficient at transpiration. This is the movement of water through a plant’s tissue, resulting in evaporation into the atmosphere. Without this, drier landscapes would reduce the number of species that could survive, limiting the biodiversity of Earth. The survival of pollinators, who have evolved to depend on these plants, would be almost impossible. And as for humans, much of our diet that relies on flowers’ reproductive processes would vanish, making it difficult to support our growing population. Whether they’re feeding other species directly or as part of a chain, flowers hold the power to keep the world’s ecosystems alive.