Cool Facts About Flowers

Flowers are unique from one species to another and are highly differentiated in how they are pollinated, their fragrances, colors and natural germination triggers. There are many interesting or cool facts about these living, breathing organisms.

Pollen

• Pollen has its own fingerprint. fingerprint image by dip from Fotolia.com

  Pollen grains viewed under a microscope tell scientists which species they came from by their distinct ridges, germ spores and spines. According to the Florida Gardener, pollen grains are like the fingerprint of a species.

Fragrance

• Flowers can be fragrant, non-fragrant or bad smelling. Perfume bottles image by TekinT from Fotolia.com

  Flower fragrances are designed to attract different types of pollinators. According to the University of Vermont Extension, white flowers attract more moths and butterflies. Blue, purple and yellow attract bees, while flowers that have an unpleasant odor attract flies.

Color Changing

• Hydrangea can change from pink to blue. Hydrangea image by Kica Henk from Fotolia.com

  Flowers such as the French hydrangea can change color from pink to blue or blue to pink by controlling the pH balance in the soil, according to Clemson University. Acidic soils will produce blue flowers and alkaline soils will produce pink.

Germination

• Forest fires help hard seeds germinate. burned out fire image by Josh Allen from Fotolia.com

  Flower seeds that are termed hard or difficult to permeate often lay dormant for years waiting for extreme temperatures, such as a forest fire, to crack their shell, according to Forest Encyclopedia. During a fire, the groundcover of fallen leaves is destroyed, allowing the cracked seed to reach fertile soil and germinate.