This is the second example that I've seen of an effect of a flowering plant's odor on mammals. The first elaborated on the physiological effect of the plant odor in women, so now we have both an affect of Cytinus visserii on behavior and the effect of another plant odor on physiology. The logical extension of what we already know about odor hedonics, flower odors, and pheromones is that flowers are producing something akin to human pheromones. This might tend to blur the line between pheromones and odors, so I suggest we all remember that pheromones are social odors. We socialize with other people. We do not socialize with flowers--even though it appears that some of them may want to attract mammals like us to further their reproductive efforts. Feel free to stop and smell the roses, but don't invite them over for dinner with sexual intent. That's just what they may want you to do as part of their plan for world conquest. (Or maybe I'm just paranoid about their newly discovered use of chemical cues.)

A round up of recent discoveries in behavior research
[Published 1st March 2011 07:52 PM GMT]

Flowers' mammal lure exposed

Researchers have solved the chemical identity of an attractant that a rare parasitic plant species, Cytinus visseri, uses to lure mammalian pollinators. Using a scented Y maze, they showed that striped field mice preferred particular components of the mixture. "Perhaps because it signifies rich food sources or plays a role in communication among mammals," Steven Johnson of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa told BBC News.

Read more: Behavior brief - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences http://www.the-scientist.com/news/displa...z1FT8DRnCd

News story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_new...376474.stm

Link to journal article: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/c...5.abstract

James V. Kohl
http://www.scentoferos.com