Herself’s Houseplants

The luscious aroma of flowers attracts lovers, and the biological role of that smell is similar: to attract pollinators.. . .Plants and pollinators often display a long history of mutual evolution, Iltis adds. When Charles Darwin saw a flower with a foot-long tube during the 1800s, he predicted the existence of a moth with an equally long “tongue” that could reach the female parts at the bottom of the tube. This moth was discovered more than a century later!

The minty, oily or sharp smells produced when you crush a leaf or stem play a defensive role, Iltis says. These smells come from chemicals that are often toxic to animals, and thus serve as a one-two punch: they smell (and taste) terrible, and then they make you sick if you ignore your senses and take a bite. . . .

Curiosities: Why do flowers smell, and why do plants smell, too?