Why Do Flowers Smell
Imagine walking through a tropical forest as a sweet scent wafts through the air. A little farther down the path, the horrible stink of rotting flesh makes you catch your breath.
可以想象一下，漫步在热带森林里，空气中飘荡着一股甜美的香味。再往前走一点，就会闻到可怕的腐肉臭味，让你捏着鼻子喘不过气来。
Upon investigation, you find that both odors originate from flowers –but why do flowers smell like anything at all?
观察了一会之后，会发现其实这两种气味都来源于花，可究竟为什么闻起来却不像花香味呢？
It's actually part of a strategy that helps flowering plants reproduce themselves and spread their species. Certain scents help these flowers solve a big problem.
其实，这是帮助开花植物进行自我繁殖和物种传播策略的一部分。某些气味帮助这些植物解决了一个大问题。
Plants flower to produce seeds that can go on to become new plants. To make a viable seed, pollen from one part of the flower must fertilize the ovules in another part of the flower.
植物开花结成的种子可以继续生成为新的植物。为了让种子成活，花的一部分的花粉必须对花的另一部分的进行胚珠授粉。
Some plants can self-pollinate, using their own pollen to fertilize the ovule. Others require pollen from another plant of the same species –that's called cross-pollination.
有些植物可以自我授粉，用自己的花粉给胚珠授粉。而有些植物则需要同种植物的花粉给胚珠授粉--这叫异花授粉。
So how does one plant get some other individual plant's pollen where it needs to be?
那么一株植物如何将花粉送到其他植物需要的地方去呢？
Sometimes gravity helps pollen fall into place. Sometimes wind carries it. Wind-pollinated flowers, like those of many trees and grasses, don't produce a scent.
有时重力能帮助花粉散落到它该去的地方；有时风能把花粉带走。比如，许多树木小草是借由风吹授粉，其花朵开放的时候并不会产生香味。
Other flowers are pollinated by birds, bats, insects or even small rodents carrying the pollen from one flower to another. In these cases, the flowers might provide a little incentive.
其他的花则是由鸟类、蝙蝠、昆虫甚至是小啮齿动物来授粉，它们把花粉从一朵花带到另一朵花。在这些情况下，花朵可能会给这些小动物一点授粉的奖励。
Animal pollinators are rewarded by sweet energy- and nutrient-rich nectar or protein-packed pollen they can eat.
帮助授粉的小动物们能得到甜美且营养的花蜜，可为其提供足够的能量；或是得到蛋白质满满的花粉，慢慢享用。
2026年2月7日于经典龙苑
