• Question: What makes types of flowers different?

    Asked by lottiemccormac to Charlie, Eoin, Jemma, Julian, Steve on 21 Mar 2011.
    • Photo: Julian Rayner

      Julian Rayner answered on 17 Mar 2011:

      Hi lottiemccormac. Evolution! Flowers exist to propagate the plant by spreading pollen and attracting pollinators. Whichever flower structure works best gets propagated, and so increases. Different flowers work for different pollinating species. Evolution by natural selection drives the whole thing.

    • Photo: Charlie Ryan

      Charlie Ryan answered on 17 Mar 2011:

      hi lottie i’m really not too sure, i guess it’s dependent on their natural environment. Sounds like a great question for biologists on here though!

    • Photo: Stephen Moss

      Stephen Moss answered on 17 Mar 2011:

      Hi Lottie

      I think there are one or two great plant scientists here to answer that question, but I guess it’s ‘speciation’, the driving force of evolution that creates so much diversity in all plants and animals.

    • Photo: Eoin Lettice

      Eoin Lettice answered on 17 Mar 2011:

      Hi lottie,
      Nice question!
      Flowers are used to attract insects and other creatures which the plant hopes will pick up some pollen and help spread the plants genes to other plants. It’s all part of plant sex!
      Flowers have evolved with different colours, shapes and smells to attract different types of creatures to act as pollinators.
      Some flowers I’ve seen smell of rotting flesh!! That’s to attract flies to the flower which think that it is a rotting animal.
      Other flowers are shaped and coloured to look like bees. Another bee spots it and tries to mate with it. Thats how that flower spreads its pollen!
      Also, humans breed plants to change the colour, shape and scent just because we like them.

      Eoin

    • Photo: Jemma Ransom

      Jemma Ransom answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      Genetics I think. All species of flowers are genetically different and this determines how they look – I’m afraid I can’t give a more detailed answer as I’m not a botanist!

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