The flowers are listening, according to new research – well, in a sense, at least.
Scientists have found evidence that plants can actually hear the buzz of passing bees and produce sweeter nectar in response to entice the flying insects in. And flowers are technically their 'ears'.
Based on observations of evening primroses (Oenothera drummondii), the team behind the new study discovered that within minutes of sensing the sound waves of nearby bee wings through flower petals, the concentration of the sugar in the plant's nectar was increased by an average of 20 percent.
The flowers even seemed able to tune out irrelevant background noises, such as the wind.
This capability could well give some plants an evolutionary advantage, say the scientists, maximising their chances of spreading pollen.
"Our results document for the first time that plants can rapidly respond to pollinator sounds in an ecologically relevant way," write the researchers from Tel-Aviv University in Israel.
