Flowers hold a timeless, universal appeal - so much so that archaeologists have uncovered evidence of flower use in ceremonials dating back 60,000 years1. As of 2015, the global floral industry is estimated to be worth €15bn2.
Flowers have inspired art, poetry, and photography. They hold great symbolic and ceremonial value. They have become a staple for nearly all significant milestones that we humans celebrate - from the time we are born i.e. for our baby shower, to our first house (housewarming), to dates and marriage(s), to anniversaries, and finally, our funeral.
Flowers are also the medium through which we express a range of emotions. We use them to express gratitude to a neighbor, to show our partner that we love them, to let someone know we are with them while they grieve the death of a loved one or just to apologize to someone we hurt.
Flowers are one of life’s simple pleasures. The sight of flowers on a particularly difficult day can be a great source of comfort or a source of great joy on a happy, sunny day. A flower might be a simple pleasure for us humans but they are simple only in the parochial sense. Don’t let their simplistic facade deceive you. They are clever seductresses who have mastered the art of beauty over thousands of years.
Beauty is a frequently discussed topic here at bitsoveratoms. In the article “On Art & Beauty”, we looked at Kantian idea of beauty where he describes beauty to be something that gives you pleasure without you seeking any information about it. According to Immanuel Kant, you don’t need to know anything about a rose to appreciate its beauty; you should be able to appreciate a rose purely by virtue of seeing it. However, as I argued in the article, contextual information always deepens your experience of enjoying art.
In that spirit, let us look at why exactly are flowers beautiful. The question “Why are flowers beautiful?” is actually two questions rolled into one:
Why do flowers seem beautiful to humans?
Why did flowers evolve to be as beautiful as they are?
Let us answer them both.
I.
Whenever I enjoy the beauty of flowers, I am always filled with gratitude for having this propensity to appreciate their beauty. And a part of me cannot help but wonder: how and why did we develop this ability?
The answer to why flowers seem beautiful to humans is fairly simple. Flowers are satisfyingly symmetrical, vibrantly colorful, pleasingly fragrant, and intricately patterned.
But that begs the question - Why do humans like these things? Why did we develop an appreciation for symmetry and patterns?
Evolution, of course. These are things we have evolved to notice over time because they increased our chances of survival. For example, we learned that bright-colored fruits are healthy and dark ones are rotten. Our ability to notice patterns in nature is what helped us recognize a threat or a place that has a lot of food and water. Perhaps the most important reason is sexual selection. The preference for certain physical traits in mates is believed to have evolved because they indicate genetic fitness, health, and reproductive potential. In this context, individuals who found certain physical traits beautiful were more likely to select mates with these traits, potentially leading to offspring with greater chances of survival and reproduction. Nothing else illustrates this better than this video of a Western Parotia trying to impress a female.
Apart from bestowing us with an evolutionary advantage, there is another reason why we developed a capacity for aesthetic pleasure: to learn. From Aeon:
Infants babble, then talk … and talk, and talk. They don’t do this to communicate. They do it to play, and by this play they acquire the capacity to communicate.
It is the same with perception. As the psychologist Daniel Berlyne noted in the 1960s, infants begin perceiving by staring, and cocking their heads to listen, to take in simple patterns. As they grow older, they become interested in more and more complex displays, staring with special fascination at incongruities, asymmetries, and the like. This is perceptual play, and it develops perceptual skill. As we grow to adulthood, the patterns that give us pleasure are more complex than those that first entranced us. As infants, we might stare at checkerboards; as adults, we are moved by the mysteries of complex landscapes and the star-filled expanse of the sky.
We begin our lives by taking pleasure in looking and listening to things, which is how we learn to perceive.
II.
While we have found the answer to why we have evolved to detect beauty, one also wonders what might explain how that beauty came into being. For example, why did flowers evolve to be that way? To be so vividly colorful, to emanate fragrance, and to have these wonderful patterns?
Once again, the answer is evolution. Flowers did it all so that they could attract bees and get some pollen dust on them thereby increasing the chances of the survival of their species.
There were no flowers before bees and vice versa. The two co-evolved to share the mutually beneficial relationship that we know of today. Bees have evolved to see things in color and in UV. In turn, flowers evolved to have these vibrant colors not just in the human-visibility spectrum but also in UV. Under ultraviolet (UV) light, flowers can appear dazzlingly different from how they look in visible light. See it for yourself.
Flowers evolved to specific features in UV for a very specific reason: to attract and guide bees to their nectar and pollen centers. Here are some common features of flowers under UV light:
UV Patterns: Many flowers have UV-absorbing pigments or compounds, which create unique patterns or markings that serve as guides for pollinators, such as bees and butterflies. These patterns can be quite striking and help guide the pollinators to the nectar.
Dark Center: The central part of some flowers, such as sunflowers and daisies, may appear dark or black under UV light. This dark center provides a high-contrast target for pollinators to land on.
Color Shift: Some flower petals may change color or appear more vivid under UV light. For example, certain white flowers might exhibit a bluish or purple glow under UV.
Hidden Nectar Guides: Nectar guides, which are typically invisible to humans, become more prominent under UV light. These guides help pollinators locate the source of nectar within the flower.
Pollen: Pollen grains may fluoresce or appear brighter under UV light, making them more visible to pollinators.
If bees could only see things in grayscale, flowers as we know them wouldn’t exist.
Bees have also evolved to detect and remember patterns, and to pick up on olfactory cues. In turn, flowers too have evolved to have delicate patterns and give off odours in an attempt to entice pollinators.
When we get lost in the beauty of a flower, we might mistakenly think that flowers are there for humans to take pleasure in. But we couldn’t be farther from the truth. We are but mere spectators in this vast, unimaginably complex world.
Next time you see a flower, you can simply enjoy it for its visual splendor. Or you can be reminded of the fascinating explanation behind why flowers are beautiful.
PS: I make aesthetically pleasing content on Instagram. Do check it out!
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1211535
https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/made-on-earth/the-new-roots-of-the-flower-trade/