Scientists already knew that variation in shape, size and colour of individual flowers can influence how their pollen is spread by visiting insects or birds. (sciencedaily.com)
On the plant's side, the presence of floral scent increases the fitness of individual flowers for two reasons: Scenting flowers are more likely to be perceived by pollinators than are non-scenting flowers, and floral volatiles increase the success of the hawk moths» foraging efforts and thus its eventual reproduction. (sciencedaily.com)
Plants as largely immobile organisms had to solve a problem: they needed to find ways to spread their genetic material beyond individual flowers. (sciencedaily.com)