The New York Times (which by now anyone who reads any of my blogs should be aware is probably my favorite publication) has provided us with a fascinating look at the evolution of flowers.
For me the interest in this article lies in the fact that I think the origin of flowers is something that we often overlook. While we may wax poetic about the beauty and ubiquity of flowers or we may carefully tend perfectly manicured flower gardens, we often take these amazing aspects of plants for granted. Flowers are very complex structures that have dominated the large majority of the plant kingdom.
But there were not always flowers. Back in the days of the dinosaurs the flower was almost completely abscent until some 130 million years ago, and then it was still overshadowed (probably quite literally) by non-flowering plant types. yet we have all been born and live in a world where flowers are everywhere and we should be pretty glad that they are because, as the article explains, the majority of our dietary energy is thanks to flowering plants.
So perhaps the next time we squat to take a slight wiff of a tulip or lily we should take a second to consider just hao important and amazing the flower is beyond its merely aesthetic appeal. Just a suggestion.
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