Felicia bergeriana in its prime

In full bloom any flower, like this flowerhead of Felicia bergeriana, has its moment of celebrating life, as if a plant is a flower’s way of creating another flower. In reality, a flower is a mere incident in the complex reproduction sequence of a certain, important set of species in the plant world, the flowering plants.

Flowers are celebrated by many other living species that take serious notice of them. Many animal species have significant reasons for noticing plants, as flowers constitute their food, or a significant proportion of it, thereby their survival. Plants respond to this, as there are untold mutually beneficial interspecies survival pacts among plants and animals on earth, unwritten but fully functional and robustly maintained in nature.

People blessed and burdened with brains develop all sorts of private and shared reasons for floral commitment, ranging across aesthetics, emotions, commerce and diverse lifestyle habits. People often love flowers, although their behaviour more often belies their avowed commitment to conservation of the flowering plants of the earth.

We’re people, so it’s complicated!