Why do flowers wilt? We’ve finally found out

<!doctype html> <html lang="en-AU" prefix="og: https://ogp.me/ns#" class="site"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="x-ua-compatible" content="ie=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no"> <link rel="icon" href="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/ret_img/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/themes/cosmos/dist/images/favicon.svg?v=a905cf20" data-spai-egr="1" sizes="any" type="image/svg+xml" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/themes/cosmos/dist/images/apple-touch-icon.png?v=0025be9a" data-spai-egr="1" /> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="48x48" href="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/themes/cosmos/dist/images/favicon-48x48.png?v=17a9d6dc" data-spai-egr="1" /> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/themes/cosmos/dist/images/favicon-32x32.png?v=af68c5be" data-spai-egr="1" /> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/themes/cosmos/dist/images/favicon-16x16.png?v=b5cd24fd" data-spai-egr="1" /> <link rel="mask-icon" href="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/ret_img/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/themes/cosmos/dist/images/safari-pinned-tab.svg?v=6575e507" data-spai-egr="1" color="#2f76bb" /> <script> var dataLayer = window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; </script> <script> dimensionsData = ({"user_id":null,"country":null}); dimensionsData.event = "user_details"; dataLayer.push(dimensionsData); </script>  <script> (function(w, d, s, l, i) { w[l] = w[l] || []; w[l].push({ 'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(), event: 'gtm.js' }); var f = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j = d.createElement(s), dl = l != 'dataLayer' ? '&l=' + l : ''; j.async = true; j.src = 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=' + i + dl; f.parentNode.insertBefore(j, f); })(window, document, 'script', 'dataLayer', 'GTM-5TDDMZV'); let dimensionsData; </script>  <script> dimensionsData = ({"post_type":"post","page_title":"Why do flowers wilt? Weve finally found out","page_location":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/","post_id":315611,"post_category":"australia|biology|science|focus|nature|news|plants","post_primary_category":"nature","revenue_type":"free","contributors":"Ellen Phiddian","publish_date":"2024-11-11","publish_time":"06:07","post_tags":"botany|flowers","scroll_page_view":"false","parent_title":"Why do flowers wilt? Weve finally found out","parent_location":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/"}); dimensionsData.event = "page_view"; dataLayer.push(dimensionsData); </script>  <title>Why do flowers wilt? We’ve finally found out</title> <meta name="description" content="We have long known why plants grow flowers. But what prompts a flower to shrivel up and wilt, once it’s done its job? We finally know the answer."/> <meta name="robots" content="follow, index, max-snippet:-1, max-video-preview:-1, max-image-preview:large"/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/" /> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Why do flowers wilt? We’ve finally found out" /> <meta property="og:description" content="We have long known why plants grow flowers. But what prompts a flower to shrivel up and wilt, once it’s done its job? We finally know the answer." /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Cosmos" /> <meta property="article:publisher" content="https://www.facebook.com/CosmosMagazine/" /> <meta property="article:tag" content="botany" /> <meta property="article:tag" content="flowers" /> <meta property="article:section" content="Nature" /> <meta property="og:updated_time" content="2024-11-15T11:59:51+10:30" /> <meta property="og:image" content="https://cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1200-16-xmas-bells.jpg" /> <meta property="og:image:secure_url" content="https://cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1200-16-xmas-bells.jpg" /> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" /> <meta property="og:image:height" content="675" /> <meta property="og:image:alt" content="close up of christmas bell flowers, one is wilting" /> <meta property="og:image:type" content="image/jpeg" /> <meta property="article:published_time" content="2024-11-11T06:07:00+10:30" /> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2024-11-15T11:59:51+10:30" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Why do flowers wilt? We’ve finally found out" /> <meta name="twitter:description" content="We have long known why plants grow flowers. But what prompts a flower to shrivel up and wilt, once it’s done its job? We finally know the answer." /> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@cosmosmagazine" /> <meta name="twitter:creator" content="@cosmosmagazine" /> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1200-16-xmas-bells.jpg" /> <meta name="twitter:label1" content="Written by" /> <meta name="twitter:data1" content="Ellen Phiddian" /> <meta name="twitter:label2" content="Time to read" /> <meta name="twitter:data2" content="3 minutes" /> <script type="application/ld+json" class="rank-math-schema-pro">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/#organization","name":"Cosmos Magazine","url":"https://cosmosmagazine.com","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/CosmosMagazine/","https://twitter.com/cosmosmagazine"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/#logo","url":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/cosmos-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/cosmos-logo.svg","caption":"Cosmos Magazine","inLanguage":"en-AU","width":"1047","height":"172"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/#website","url":"https://cosmosmagazine.com","name":"Cosmos Magazine","publisher":{"@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1200-16-xmas-bells.jpg","url":"/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1200-16-xmas-bells.jpg","width":"1200","height":"675","caption":"close up of christmas bell flowers, one is wilting","inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":"1","item":{"@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com","name":"Cosmos"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":"2","item":{"@id":"/nature/","name":"Nature"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":"3","item":{"@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/","name":"Why do flowers wilt? We\u2019ve finally found out"}}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/#webpage","url":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/","name":"Why do flowers wilt? We\u2019ve finally found out","datePublished":"2024-11-11T06:07:00+10:30","dateModified":"2024-11-15T11:59:51+10:30","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1200-16-xmas-bells.jpg"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/#breadcrumb"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/author/ellen-phiddian/","name":"Ellen Phiddian","url":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/author/ellen-phiddian/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/07e090106befe2d08eda23fa02420be6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/07e090106befe2d08eda23fa02420be6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ellen Phiddian","inLanguage":"en-AU"},"worksFor":{"@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/#organization"}},{"@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Why do flowers wilt? We\u2019ve finally found out","keywords":"wilt","datePublished":"2024-11-11T06:07:00+10:30","dateModified":"2024-11-15T11:59:51+10:30","articleSection":"Australia, Biology, Core Sciences, Focus, Nature, News, Plants","author":{"@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/author/ellen-phiddian/","name":"Ellen Phiddian"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/#organization"},"description":"We have long known why plants grow flowers. But what prompts a flower to shrivel up and wilt, once it\u2019s done its job? We finally know the answer.","copyrightYear":"2024","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/#organization"},"name":"Why do flowers wilt? We\u2019ve finally found out","@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/#richSnippet","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/#webpage"},"image":{"@id":"/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1200-16-xmas-bells.jpg"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/#webpage"}}]}</script>  <script> function paywall_impression_dataLayer() { dataLayer.push({ 'event': 'paywall_impression', 'paywall_name': '', 'page_location': 'https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/' }); } if (window.location.pathname == '/restricted-content/') { paywall_impression_dataLayer(); } </script>  <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5TDDMZV" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/cache/minify/5e94f.css?x75256" media="all" /> <style id='safe-svg-svg-icon-style-inline-css' type='text/css'> .safe-svg-cover{text-align:center}.safe-svg-cover .safe-svg-inside{display:inline-block;max-width:100%}.safe-svg-cover svg{height:100%;max-height:100%;max-width:100%;width:100%} </style> <style id='rank-math-toc-block-style-inline-css' type='text/css'> .wp-block-rank-math-toc-block nav ol{counter-reset:item}.wp-block-rank-math-toc-block nav ol li{display:block}.wp-block-rank-math-toc-block nav ol li:before{content:counters(item, ".") ". ";counter-increment:item} </style> <style id='classic-theme-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> /*! This file is auto-generated */ .wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none} </style> <style id='global-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> body{--wp--preset--color--black: #000000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray: #abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white: #ffffff;--wp--preset--color--pale-pink: #f78da7;--wp--preset--color--vivid-red: #cf2e2e;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange: #ff6900;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber: #fcb900;--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan: #7bdcb5;--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan: #00d084;--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue: #8ed1fc;--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue: #0693e3;--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple: #9b51e0;--wp--preset--color--brand-primary: #2f76bb;--wp--preset--color--rackley: #5B92AB;--wp--preset--color--queen-blue: #406E8E;--wp--preset--color--police-blue: #22476B;--wp--preset--color--oxford-blue: #0C2746;--wp--preset--color--light-grey: #e5e5e5;--wp--preset--color--my-cosmos-very-light: #f3f9f9;--wp--preset--color--my-cosmos-light: #00a8a8;--wp--preset--color--my-cosmos-dark: #008294;--wp--preset--color--greenlight-green: #36B34A;--wp--preset--color--greenlight-light-green: #8dc63f;--wp--preset--color--greenlight-dark-green: #0d6c28;--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(122,220,180) 0%,rgb(0,208,130) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(252,185,0,1) 0%,rgba(255,105,0,1) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(255,105,0,1) 0%,rgb(207,46,46) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(238,238,238) 0%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(74,234,220) 0%,rgb(151,120,209) 20%,rgb(207,42,186) 40%,rgb(238,44,130) 60%,rgb(251,105,98) 80%,rgb(254,248,76) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,206,236) 0%,rgb(152,150,240) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(254,205,165) 0%,rgb(254,45,45) 50%,rgb(107,0,62) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,203,112) 0%,rgb(199,81,192) 50%,rgb(65,88,208) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,245,203) 0%,rgb(182,227,212) 50%,rgb(51,167,181) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(202,248,128) 0%,rgb(113,206,126) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--midnight: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(2,3,129) 0%,rgb(40,116,252) 100%);--wp--preset--font-size--small: 13px;--wp--preset--font-size--medium: 20px;--wp--preset--font-size--large: 36px;--wp--preset--font-size--x-large: 42px;--wp--preset--spacing--20: 0.44rem;--wp--preset--spacing--30: 0.67rem;--wp--preset--spacing--40: 1rem;--wp--preset--spacing--50: 1.5rem;--wp--preset--spacing--60: 2.25rem;--wp--preset--spacing--70: 3.38rem;--wp--preset--spacing--80: 5.06rem;--wp--preset--shadow--natural: 6px 6px 9px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--deep: 12px 12px 50px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);--wp--preset--shadow--sharp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--outlined: 6px 6px 0px -3px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 6px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);--wp--preset--shadow--crisp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);}:where(.is-layout-flex){gap: 0.5em;}:where(.is-layout-grid){gap: 0.5em;}body .is-layout-flow > .alignleft{float: left;margin-inline-start: 0;margin-inline-end: 2em;}body .is-layout-flow > .alignright{float: right;margin-inline-start: 2em;margin-inline-end: 0;}body .is-layout-flow > .aligncenter{margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignleft{float: left;margin-inline-start: 0;margin-inline-end: 2em;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignright{float: right;margin-inline-start: 2em;margin-inline-end: 0;}body .is-layout-constrained > .aligncenter{margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > :where(:not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.alignfull)){max-width: var(--wp--style--global--content-size);margin-left: auto !important;margin-right: auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignwide{max-width: var(--wp--style--global--wide-size);}body .is-layout-flex{display: flex;}body .is-layout-flex{flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;}body .is-layout-flex > *{margin: 0;}body .is-layout-grid{display: grid;}body .is-layout-grid > *{margin: 0;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;}.has-black-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--x-large) !important;} .wp-block-navigation a:where(:not(.wp-element-button)){color: inherit;} :where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;} :where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;} .wp-block-pullquote{font-size: 1.5em;line-height: 1.6;} </style> <style id='woocommerce-inline-inline-css' type='text/css'> .woocommerce form .form-row .required { visibility: visible; } </style> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/cache/minify/20adf.css?x75256" media="all" /> <script src="/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?x75256&ver=3.7.0"></script><script defer src="https://cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/cache/minify/63b1f.js?x75256"></script> <noscript><style>.woocommerce-product-gallery{ opacity: 1 !important; }</style></noscript> <meta name="onesignal" content="wordpress-plugin"/> <script> window.OneSignal = window.OneSignal || []; OneSignal.push( function() { OneSignal.SERVICE_WORKER_UPDATER_PATH = 'OneSignalSDKUpdaterWorker.js'; OneSignal.SERVICE_WORKER_PATH = 'OneSignalSDKWorker.js'; OneSignal.SERVICE_WORKER_PARAM = { scope: '/wp-content/plugins/onesignal-free-web-push-notifications/sdk_files/push/onesignal/' }; OneSignal.setDefaultNotificationUrl("https://cosmosmagazine.com"); var oneSignal_options = {}; window._oneSignalInitOptions = oneSignal_options; oneSignal_options['wordpress'] = true; oneSignal_options['appId'] = '320b1551-21ef-49e1-b09c-5a188d0478da'; oneSignal_options['allowLocalhostAsSecureOrigin'] = true; oneSignal_options['welcomeNotification'] = { }; oneSignal_options['welcomeNotification']['title'] = ""; oneSignal_options['welcomeNotification']['message'] = ""; oneSignal_options['path'] = "https://cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/plugins/onesignal-free-web-push-notifications/sdk_files/"; oneSignal_options['safari_web_id'] = "web.onesignal.auto.4345f3b9-0648-4376-838e-008c1d802430"; oneSignal_options['promptOptions'] = { }; oneSignal_options['promptOptions']['actionMessage'] = "Get an update of science stories with push notifications. You can unsubscribe at any time."; oneSignal_options['notifyButton'] = { }; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['enable'] = true; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['position'] = 'bottom-left'; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['theme'] = 'default'; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['size'] = 'medium'; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['displayPredicate'] = function() { return OneSignal.isPushNotificationsEnabled() .then(function(isPushEnabled) { return !isPushEnabled; }); }; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['showCredit'] = false; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['text'] = {}; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['colors'] = {}; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['colors']['circle.background'] = '#2f76bb'; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['colors']['circle.foreground'] = 'white'; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['colors']['pulse.color'] = '#2f76bb'; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['colors']['dialog.button.background'] = '#2f76bb'; oneSignal_options['notifyButton']['colors']['dialog.button.background.active'] = '#2f76bb'; OneSignal.init(window._oneSignalInitOptions); OneSignal.showSlidedownPrompt(); }); function documentInitOneSignal() { var oneSignal_elements = document.getElementsByClassName("OneSignal-prompt"); var oneSignalLinkClickHandler = function(event) { OneSignal.push(['registerForPushNotifications']); event.preventDefault(); }; for(var i = 0; i < oneSignal_elements.length; i++) oneSignal_elements[i].addEventListener('click', oneSignalLinkClickHandler, false); } if (document.readyState === 'complete') { documentInitOneSignal(); } else { window.addEventListener("load", function(event){ documentInitOneSignal(); }); } </script> <script type="text/javascript" id="spai_js" data-cfasync="false"> document.documentElement.className += " spai_has_js"; (function(w, d){ var b = d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]; var s = d.createElement("script"); var v = ("IntersectionObserver" in w) ? "" : "-compat"; s.async = true; // This includes the script as async. s.src = "https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/assets/js/bundles/spai-lib-bg" + v + ".1.1.min.js?v=3.8.0"; w.spaiDomain = "cdn.shortpixel.ai"; w.spaiData = { version: "3.8.0", key: "spai", quality: "lossy", convert: "auto", lqip: false, rootMargin: "500px", crop: true, sizeBreakpoints: {"on":false,"base":50,"rate":10}, backgroundsMaxWidth: 1920, resizeStyleBackgrounds: true, nativeLazyLoad: false, safeLazyBackgrounds: true, asyncInitialParsing: true, debug: false, doSelectors: [{"selectors":"img","type":"attr","targetAttr":"src","attrType":"url","lazy":true,"resize":true},{"selectors":"[data-spai-bg-on]","type":"attr","targetAttr":"style","attrType":"style"},{"selectors":"style","type":"inner","attrType":"style"}], exclusions: {"selectors":{".cta-and-payment-methods img":{"lazy":1,"cdn":1,"resize":0,"lqip":0,"crop":-1},"img.zoomImg":{"lazy":1,"cdn":1,"resize":0,"lqip":0,"crop":-1}},"urls":[]}, sizeFromImageSuffix: true }; b.appendChild(s); }(window, document)); </script> <style type="text/css" id="wp-custom-css"> /*.home-banner { background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxIDEiIHdpZHRoPSIxIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjEiIGRhdGEtdT0iaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZjb3Ntb3NtYWdhemluZS5jb20lMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjElMkYwOSUyRkZvc3NpbF9OaWxwZW5hLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSIxIiBkYXRhLWg9IjEiIGRhdGEtYmlwPSIiPjwvc3ZnPg=="); }*/ .cross-sells { display:none; } .woocommerce .cart-collaterals .cart_totals, .woocommerce-page .cart-collaterals .cart_totals { float: left; } section.article-container.cart-page .woocommerce .wc-proceed-to-checkout { text-align: left; } section.article-container.cart-page .woocommerce .give_wc_donation_section_td { display: none; } p.mailchimp-newsletter { display:none; } p.add-latest-issue { display:none; } .is-provider-crowdsignal amp-iframe { display: none; } body:not(.amp-mode-touch) .hide-if-not-amp { display: none; } #place_order:hover { background: unset; } </style> <script async src="https://t.atmng.io/consent/stub.js"></script> <script async src="https://t.atmng.io/qvty/WiEbuew5P.prod.js"></script>  <script> var adUnits = adUnits || []; adUnits = adUnits.concat([{auId:'00000000001fc2ca',auW:'0',auH:'250',mediaType:'mobile',postId:315611,targetId:'adn-00000000001fc2ca-i0p0',requestParams:{proximity:800,load:'lazyRequest'}},{auId:'00000000001fc2ca',auW:'0',auH:'250',mediaType:'mobile',postId:315611,targetId:'adn-00000000001fc2ca-i1p0',requestParams:{proximity:800,load:'lazyRequest'}},{auId:'00000000001fc2ca',auW:'0',auH:'250',mediaType:'mobile',postId:315611,targetId:'adn-00000000001fc2ca-i2p0',requestParams:{proximity:800,load:'lazyRequest'}},{auId:'00000000001fc2ca',auW:'0',auH:'250',mediaType:'mobile',postId:315611,targetId:'adn-00000000001fc2ca-i3p0',requestParams:{proximity:800,load:'lazyRequest'}},{auId:'00000000001fc2ca',auW:'0',auH:'250',mediaType:'mobile',postId:315611,targetId:'adn-00000000001fc2ca-i4p0',requestParams:{proximity:800,load:'lazyRequest'}},{auId:'00000000001fc2cc',auW:'300',auH:'250',mediaType:'desktop',refresh:{delay:30,count:5,event:'onViewable'},targetId:'adn-00000000001fc2cc-i0p0',requestParams:{proximity:800,load:'lazyRequest'}},{auId:'00000000001fc737',auW:'320',auH:'50',mediaType:'mobile',refresh:{delay:30,count:5,event:'onViewable'},targetId:'adn-00000000001fc737-i0p0',requestParams:{proximity:800,load:'lazyRequest'}},{auId:'000000000023d099',auW:'970',auH:'90',mediaType:'desktop',refresh:{delay:30,count:5,event:'onViewable'},targetId:'adn-000000000023d099-i0p0',requestParams:{proximity:800,load:'lazyRequest'}},{auId:'000000000023d09a',auW:'300',auH:'250',mediaType:'mobile',refresh:{delay:30,count:5,event:'onViewable'},targetId:'adn-000000000023d09a-i0p0',requestParams:{proximity:800,load:'lazyRequest'}},{auId:'00000000001fc2bd',auW:'970',auH:'90',mediaType:'desktop',targetId:'adn-00000000001fc2bd-i0p0',refresh:{delay:30,count:5,event:'onViewable'},requestParams:{proximity:800,load:'lazyRequest'}}]); </script> <script> let adUnitsServed = []; let adUnitDivParentClassArray = []; var adUnits = adUnits || []; requestThirdPartyAds = (adUnits, adUnitsPrevious) => { let adUnitsFiltered = adUnits.filter(function(adUnit) { if (!adUnit.mediaType || adUnit.mediaType === 'all') { return true; } if (isMobileDevice()) { return adUnit.mediaType !== 'desktop'; } else { return adUnit.mediaType !== 'mobile'; } }); if (JSON.stringify(adUnitsFiltered) === JSON.stringify(adUnitsServed)) { return adUnitsFiltered; } adUnitsFiltered = adUnitsFiltered.filter(function(adUnit) { return !adUnitsServed.some(function(adUnitServed) { return JSON.stringify(adUnit) === JSON.stringify(adUnitServed) }); }); if (adUnitsFiltered.length === 0) { return adUnitsFiltered; } let adUnitsToRequest = []; adUnitsToRequest = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(adUnitsFiltered)); adUnitsToRequest.forEach(function(adUnitToRequest) { delete adUnitToRequest.mediaType; }); window.adn = window.adn || {}; adn.calls = adn.calls || []; adn.calls.push(function() { adn.requestAds({ adUnits: adUnitsToRequest }); }); if (window.location.hostname !== 'cosmosmagazine.com') { console.log('Ad units requested: ', adUnitsFiltered); if (isMobileDevice()) { console.log("Mobile device detected."); } else { console.log("Desktop device detected."); } } adUnitsServed = adUnitsServed.concat(adUnitsFiltered); return adUnitsServed; }; function isMobileDevice() { let userAgent = navigator.userAgent || navigator.vendor || window.opera; let windowWidth = window.innerWidth; if (windowWidth > 1100) { return false; } if (/windows phone/i.test(userAgent)) { return true; } if (/android/i.test(userAgent)) { return true; } if (/iPad|iPhone|iPod/.test(userAgent) && !window.MSStream) { return true; } if (windowWidth < 1100) { return true; } return false; } adUnitsServed = requestThirdPartyAds(adUnits, adUnitsServed); </script> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://use.typekit.net" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://chimpstatic.com" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://connect.facebook.net" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://vars.hotjar.com" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://script.hotjar.com" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://static.hotjar.com" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://www.googletagmanager.com" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://cdn.adnuntius.com" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://t.atmng.io" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://cdn.onesignal.com" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://www.google-analytics.com" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://s3.amazonaws.com" crossorigin> <script> // console log the user's IP address for debugging purposes console.log('User IP Address: 15.235.87.144'); console.log('User has IP Access: '); console.log('User has Access (IP or subscription): '); </script> <link href="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai" rel="preconnect" crossorigin><style id="spai_bg_lazr">html.spai_has_js [data-spai-bg-on]:not([data-spai-bg-prepared]){background-image: none !important;}</style></head> <body class="post-template-default single single-post postid-315611 single-format-standard wp-custom-logo theme-cosmos/resources woocommerce-no-js flowers-wilting-plants-explainer nature australia biology science focus news plants non-member app-data index-data singular-data single-data single-post-data single-post-flowers-wilting-plants-explainer-data"> <div id="wrapper" class="wrap container" role="document"> <header class="banner Fixed">  <div class="advert full-width-advert ad-page-top ad-desktop auh-90"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2bd-i0p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <div class="container"> <div class="header-upper"> <div class="header-menu-wrapper"> <ul class="cols-all-gap"> <li class="col login"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/account/">LOG IN</a> </li> <li class="col signup"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/subscribe-now" class="signup-header">SIGN UP</a> </li> <li class="col search" id="magnifying-glass__icon"> <a class="open-search-form" href="#search-form" aria-label="Article Search Icon Link"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="white" stroke-width="4" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"> <circle cx="11" cy="11" r="8"></circle> <line x1="21" y1="21" x2="16.65" y2="16.65" stroke-width="5"></line> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="col menu-cart"> <a aria-label="Cart link Icon" class="menu-cart-icon" href='https://cosmosmagazine.com/checkout/' > <svg width="100%" height="100%" viewBox="0 0 34 28" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xml:space="preserve" xmlns:serif="http://www.serif.com/" style="fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;stroke-linejoin:round;stroke-miterlimit:2;"> <g> <path d="M23.951,22.432C23.951,22.871 23.589,23.227 23.143,23.227C22.703,23.23 22.339,22.872 22.335,22.432L22.335,15.75C22.335,15.31 22.697,14.954 23.143,14.954C23.589,14.954 23.951,15.31 23.951,15.75L23.951,22.432ZM17.808,22.432C17.808,22.871 17.446,23.227 17,23.227C16.56,23.23 16.196,22.872 16.192,22.432L16.192,15.75C16.192,15.31 16.554,14.954 17,14.954C17.446,14.954 17.808,15.31 17.808,15.75L17.808,22.432ZM11.665,22.432C11.665,22.871 11.303,23.227 10.857,23.227C10.417,23.23 10.053,22.872 10.049,22.432L10.049,15.75C10.049,15.31 10.411,14.954 10.857,14.954C11.303,14.954 11.665,15.31 11.665,15.75L11.665,22.432ZM17,2.557L22.744,10.181L11.256,10.181L17,2.557ZM32.32,10.181L25.159,10.181L17.786,0.394L17.78,0.386L17.773,0.38C17.755,0.357 17.737,0.334 17.717,0.313L17.687,0.28L17.65,0.247C17.629,0.229 17.608,0.211 17.586,0.195L17.576,0.187C17.502,0.133 17.42,0.09 17.334,0.059L17.322,0.054C17.295,0.045 17.268,0.037 17.24,0.03L17.232,0.027C17.208,0.021 17.184,0.017 17.159,0.013L17.14,0.01L17.081,0.004L17.047,0L16.952,0C16.944,0 16.937,0.002 16.929,0.003C16.905,0.004 16.882,0.007 16.858,0.01L16.853,0.01C16.698,0.034 16.55,0.094 16.423,0.187L16.415,0.193C16.392,0.21 16.37,0.228 16.349,0.247C16.337,0.257 16.326,0.269 16.314,0.281C16.304,0.291 16.292,0.301 16.282,0.313C16.262,0.334 16.244,0.357 16.226,0.38L16.22,0.386L16.214,0.394L8.841,10.181L1.681,10.181C0.497,10.181 -0.315,11.354 0.118,12.438L3.773,26.045C4.149,27.211 5.244,28.005 6.47,28L27.53,28C28.767,28 29.86,27.208 30.227,26.045L33.882,12.438C34.315,11.354 33.502,10.181 32.32,10.181Z" /> </g> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> <div class="search-form-modal"> <div class="search-close"></div> <div class="search-container"> <div class="search-form__ui"> <div class="search-form__input-wrapper" id="searchInput"></div> <button class="search-form__button">SEARCH</button> </div> <div class="search-form__results" id="headerSearchHits"></div> <div class="search-form__view-more"> <span>View More Results</span> </div> </div> </div> <script> document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() { let searchViewMore = document.querySelector('.search-form__view-more'); let seachInput = document.getElementById('searchInput'); // If algoliasearch is not defined. This is the case when the Algolia scripts are not loaded. (e.g. on single post pages for page speed optimisation). if (typeof algoliasearch === 'undefined') { // Add an input field to the search form seachInput.innerHTML = ` <div class="ais-SearchBox"><form action="" role="search" class="ais-SearchBox-form" novalidate=""> <input class="ais-SearchBox-input" type="search" placeholder="Search The Archives" autocomplete="off" autocorrect="off" autocapitalize="off" spellcheck="false" maxlength="512"> </form></div>`; searchViewMore.style.display = 'none'; } document.querySelectorAll('.search-form__button, .search-form__view-more').forEach( function(triggerEl) { triggerEl.addEventListener('click', function() { let searchQuery = triggerEl.parentNode.querySelector( 'input').value; document.location.href = '/search?query=' + searchQuery; }); }); document.querySelectorAll('.ais-SearchBox-input').forEach(function(inputEl) { inputEl.addEventListener('keydown', function(ev) { if (ev.key === 'Enter') { ev.preventDefault(); let searchQuery = ev.currentTarget.value; document.location.href = '/search?query=' + searchQuery; } }); }); }); </script> </div> </div> <div class="primary-menu-wrapper"> <div class="hamburger hamburger--collapse" type="button" aria-label="Mobile Menu" role="button" tabindex="1" onClick="document.getElementById('primary-menu').classList.toggle('active');" on="tap:primary-menu.toggleClass(class=active)"> </div> <a class="brand" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/"> <img src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA4MzkgMTUxIiB3aWR0aD0iODM5IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjE1MSIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjQlMkYwMyUyRkNvc21vc19sb2dvX3doaXRlLnN2ZyIgZGF0YS13PSI4MzkiIGRhdGEtaD0iMTUxIiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Cosmos" width="200" height="50"><noscript data-spai="1"><img src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/ret_img/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Cosmos_logo_white.svg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Cosmos" width="200" height="50"></noscript> </a> <div class="nav-wrapper"> <nav id="primary-menu" class="nav-primary"> <div class="primary-menu__background" onClick="document.getElementById('primary-menu').classList.toggle('active');" on="tap:primary-menu.toggleClass(class=active)"> </div> <div class="mobile-menu-actions"> <div class="mobile-search-toggle" onclick="(function() { document.getElementById('primary-menu').classList.remove('active'); document.getElementById('mobile-search').classList.add('active'); document.getElementById('mobile-search-input').focus(); })()" on="tap:primary-menu.toggleClass(class=active, force=false),mobile-search.toggleClass(class=active, force=true),mobile-search-input.focus"> SEARCH</div> <div class="mobile-account-button"> <a href="/account"> LOG IN </a> </div> </div> <ul id="menu-main-menu" class="nav"><li id="menu-item-1329" class="space-border menu-item menu-space"><a href="/space/">Space</a></li> <li id="menu-item-27168" class="technology-border menu-item menu-tech"><a href="/technology/">Tech</a></li> <li id="menu-item-1321" class="current-post-ancestor current-post-parent nature-border menu-item menu-nature"><a href="/nature/">Nature</a></li> <li id="menu-item-33108" class="earth-border menu-item menu-earth"><a href="/earth/">Earth</a></li> <li id="menu-item-1302" class="history-border menu-item menu-history"><a href="/history/">History</a></li> <li id="menu-item-1325" class="people-border menu-item menu-people"><a href="/people/">People</a></li> <li id="menu-item-1313" class="health-border menu-item menu-health"><a href="/health/">Health</a></li> <li id="menu-item-1335" class="current-post-ancestor current-post-parent science-border menu-item menu-core-sciences"><a href="/science/">Core Sciences</a></li> <li id="menu-item-311423" class="menu-item menu-newsletters"><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/newsletter/">Newsletters</a></li> <li id="menu-item-311215" class="menu-item menu-subscribe-now"><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/subscribe-now/">Subscribe Now</a></li> </ul> </nav> <div class="secondary-menu-wrapper "> <nav id="secondary-menu"> <ul> <li class="nature-border"> <a href="/nature/animals/">Animals</a> </li> <li class="nature-border"> <a href="/nature/amoty/">Australian Mammal of the Year</a> </li> <li class="nature-border"> <a href="/nature/birds/">Birds</a> </li> <li class="nature-border"> <a href="/nature/evolution/">Evolution</a> </li> <li class="nature-border"> <a href="/nature/marine-life/">Marine life</a> </li> <li class="nature-border"> <a href="/nature/plants/">Plants</a> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="secondary-menu-wrapper duplicate-secondary-nav"> <nav id="secondary-menu"> <ul> <li class="nature-border"> <a href="/nature/animals/">Animals</a> </li> <li class="nature-border"> <a href="/nature/amoty/">Australian Mammal of the Year</a> </li> <li class="nature-border"> <a href="/nature/birds/">Birds</a> </li> <li class="nature-border"> <a href="/nature/evolution/">Evolution</a> </li> <li class="nature-border"> <a href="/nature/marine-life/">Marine life</a> </li> <li class="nature-border"> <a href="/nature/plants/">Plants</a> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> <div id="mobile-search" class="mobile-search"> <form class="mobile-search__form" action="/search/" method="GET"> <input id="mobile-search-input" class="mobile-search__input" name="query" placeholder="Search..." aria-label="Search Input" /> <button class="mobile-search__button" aria-label="Search Button" title="Search" role="button"> <svg width="28" height="28" viewBox="0 0 28 28"> <path fill-rule="nonzero" d="M12 0c6.627417 0 12 5.372583 12 12 0 3.2085154-1.2592234 6.1229233-3.3104309 8.2759846.0054641.0049849.0115296.0109006.0175377.0169086l5.6568542 5.6568543c.3905243.3905243.3905243 1.0236892 0 1.4142135-.3905243.3905243-1.0236892.3905243-1.4142135 0l-5.6568543-5.6568542c-.0339069-.0339069-.0648699-.069643-.0928889-.1068905C17.1949096 23.1071552 14.7017223 24 12 24 5.372583 24 0 18.627417 0 12S5.372583 0 12 0zm0 2C6.4771525 2 2 6.4771525 2 12s4.4771525 10 10 10 10-4.4771525 10-10S17.5228475 2 12 2z"> </path> </svg> </button> </form> </div> <div class="content"> <main class="main rows-gap margin-top-1 margin-bottom-1"> <nav aria-label="breadcrumbs" class="rank-math-breadcrumb"><p><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com">Cosmos</a><span class="separator"> » </span><a href="/nature/">Nature</a></p></nav> <section class="article-container cols-4 md-cols-1 cols-gap-1 padding-bottom-4"> <article class="col col-span-3 post-315611 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-nature category-australia category-biology category-science category-focus category-news category-plants tag-botany tag-flowers"> <header class="rows rows-gap"> <h1 class="entry-title row">Why do flowers wilt? We’ve finally found out</h1> <div class="row primary-image has-featured-image " data-featured-image="1200-16-xmas-bells.jpg"> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content cols-6 md-cols-1 cols-gap-1 margin-top-1"> <div class="content-left-sidebar cols-1 col"> <section class="contributors md-cols-1 rows-gap"> <div class="row post-date"> <span class="published-date">November 11, 2024</span> </div> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/ellen-phiddian/" class="author row md-hide"> <img src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA0NTAgNDM2IiB3aWR0aD0iNDUwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjQzNiIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjElMkYwMiUyRkVsbGVuLXNtYWxsLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSI0NTAiIGRhdGEtaD0iNDM2IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Ellen Phiddian" width="200" /><noscript data-spai="1"><img src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Ellen-small.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Ellen Phiddian" width="200" /></noscript> <div class="bio"> <h3>Ellen Phiddian</h3> <p>Cosmos science journalist</p> </div> </a> <div id="author-name" class="hide"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/ellen-phiddian/" class="bio"> By Ellen Phiddian </a> </div> <div class="favourite__wrapper row cols"> <button class="showDialog simplefavorite-button" aria-label="Favourite button"> </button> </div> </section> </div> <div class="primary-content cols-1 col-span-5 col"> <div class="flexible-content "> <div class="copy"> <p>We have long known why plants grow <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/plants/flummoxing-flowers-facts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">flowers</a> – to encourage pollination. But what prompts a flower to shrivel up, once it’s done its job?</p> <p>While there have been plenty of theories, the reason has not – until now – ever been directly tested.</p> <p>But some experiments on colourful Christmas bells (<em>Blandfordia grandiflora</em>) have finally yielded evidence.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" width="850" height="638" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA4NTAgNjM4IiB3aWR0aD0iODUwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjYzOCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjMlMkYwNyUyRjg1MC14bWFzLWJlbGxzLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSI4NTAiIGRhdGEtaD0iNjM4IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Close up of christmas bell flowers, one is wilting" class="wp-image-315608" title="why do flowers wilt? we’ve finally found out 1"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" width="850" height="638" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-xmas-bells.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Close up of christmas bell flowers, one is wilting" class="wp-image-315608" srcset="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-xmas-bells.jpg 850w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-xmas-bells-600x450.jpg 600w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-xmas-bells-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-xmas-bells-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px" title="why do flowers wilt? we’ve finally found out 1"></noscript><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Christmas bells, or Blandfordia grandiflora, in Queensland. Credit: © Wild/flower Women / via iNaturalist</figcaption></figure> <p>The study is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13720" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in <em>Plant Biology.</em></p> <p>Lead author Professor Graham Pyke, a researcher at Macquarie University, tells <em>Cosmos</em> he took an interest in wilting while studying resource conservation in Christmas bells.</p> <div class="in-content-area related-box-wrapper content-third content-right margin-bottom-1"> <div class="gradient-title">Read More</div> <ul class="related-box article-listing"> <li class="cols"> <div class="article article-post"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/plants/flummoxing-flowers-facts/" class="thumbnail ar-16-9" aria-label="Article link"> <span data-spai-bg-on="1" class="image" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDY3NSIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLXU9Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGY29zbW9zbWFnYXppbmUuY29tJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDIzJTJGMDklMkYxMjAwLVJhZmZsZXNpYS1rZW11bXUtaW4tdGhlLXJhaW5mb3Jlc3Qtb2YtU3VtYXRyYS5qcGciIGRhdGEtdz0iMTIwMCIgZGF0YS1oPSI2NzUiIGRhdGEtYmlwPSIiPjwvc3ZnPg==)"></span> </a> <div class="article-content has-very-light-grey-background-color"> <a href="/nature/plants/"> <span class="category nature-color"> Plants </span> </a> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/plants/flummoxing-flowers-facts/"> <h3>Fairy lanterns and corpse flowers: 6 flummoxing flower facts</h3> </a> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <p>“I decided to think: Okay, what’s the advantage to a plant having flowers wilt? The obvious answer, when you think about it, is it enables a plant to salvage some of those resources it has put into petals and reuse those resources at some other place, at some other time.”</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i0p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>There are several different hypotheses on why flowers wilt, suggesting different ways the energy and nutrients might be redistributed.</p> <p>“We set up 3 experiments aimed at preventing or allowing reallocation of resources from  flowers, one way or another,” says Pyke.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="850" height="486" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA4NTAgNDg2IiB3aWR0aD0iODUwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjQ4NiIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjMlMkYwNyUyRjg1MC03MDB4NDAwX0Q4MDAtMjAxOC0xMi0xMjktR3JhaGFtLWFuZC1hc3Npc3RhbnQtaW4tZmllbGQtb2YtY2hyaXN0bWFzLWJlbGxzLXJlc2l6ZWQuanBnIiBkYXRhLXc9Ijg1MCIgZGF0YS1oPSI0ODYiIGRhdGEtYmlwPSIiPjwvc3ZnPg==" data-spai="1" alt="People walking through field of flowers" class="wp-image-315610" title="why do flowers wilt? we’ve finally found out 2"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" width="850" height="486" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-700x400_D800-2018-12-129-Graham-and-assistant-in-field-of-christmas-bells-resized.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="People walking through field of flowers" class="wp-image-315610" srcset="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-700x400_D800-2018-12-129-Graham-and-assistant-in-field-of-christmas-bells-resized.jpg 850w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-700x400_D800-2018-12-129-Graham-and-assistant-in-field-of-christmas-bells-resized-600x343.jpg 600w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-700x400_D800-2018-12-129-Graham-and-assistant-in-field-of-christmas-bells-resized-768x439.jpg 768w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/850-700x400_D800-2018-12-129-Graham-and-assistant-in-field-of-christmas-bells-resized-300x172.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px" title="why do flowers wilt? we’ve finally found out 2"></noscript><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The researchers in a Christmas bell field. Credit: Graham Pyke</figcaption></figure> <p>In the first experiment, the team removed the petals from some Christmas bell flowers with tiny scissors, preventing the plant from salvaging the petals’ resources. Then, they artificially pollinated each flower, so that they could still germinate without petals. They left other flowers on each plant intact, to see if the wilted flowers produced more seeds than the non-wilted flowers.</p> <p>“We found no difference between plants with wilting flowers and plants with normal flowers,” says Pyke.</p> <p>In the second experiment, they removed petals <em>and</em> stigma (the part of a flower which germinates pollen), so those flowers couldn’t wilt or produce seeds.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i1p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>“We arranged, at the end, to have counselling for all our plants,” jokes Pyke, saying that this was probably a stressful experience for the flowers.</p> <p>They again left other flowers on the plant intact, to see if the plants redistributed their resources to make seeds elsewhere.</p> <p>“The second experiment, where plants could reuse resources in other flowers of the same plant, also showed no difference between wilting plants and non-wilting plants,” says Pyke.</p> <a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/OP59" class="newsletter-cta" data-device="mobile"> <img decoding="async" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMDAgMjUwIiB3aWR0aD0iMzAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjQlMkYwMyUyRldlZWtseS1DYXRjaHVwLTMwMHgyNTAtMS5wbmciIGRhdGEtdz0iMzAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="Newsletter" title="why do flowers wilt? we’ve finally found out 3"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Weekly-Catchup-300x250-1.png" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Newsletter" title="why do flowers wilt? we’ve finally found out 3"></noscript> </a> <p>In the third experiment, they removed all the stigmas from plants, and then removed petals on some plants and left them on others – so the Christmas bells couldn’t make any seeds that year, but some of them could still wilt. The team then returned a year later to see how the plants produced seeds in the next season.</p> <p>“We found that yes, indeed, the plants from which flowers have been allowed to wilt were more likely to flower again a year later,” says Pyke.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i2p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>This means that the wilting flowers are a long-term move for the plant: they allow the plant to conserve resources for another year.</p> <p>“This is the first direct demonstration that flowering plants store resources from wilting flowers, and reuse of resources for subsequent reproduction,” says Pyke.</p> <p>“A lot of people have suggested that in the past – we’re the first ones to come along and give a great demonstration.”</p> <p>The researchers don’t yet know how this reallocation works, although they have ideas for ways to figure it out.</p> <p>“I want to look, for example, at what happens with tissues labelled with <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/chemistry/what-is-an-isotope-isotopic-analysis-explainer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">radioisotopes</a> in different parts of the flowers, [to] see where those radioisotopes move,” says Pyke.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i3p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>“That will shed a lot of light on that some of the physiological mechanisms by which the plant does things.</p> <p>“As for how it actually pulls it off chemically – we need a clever biochemist to come along and look at that.”</p> <p>As well as possibly being useful knowledge for <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/florists-and-growers-say-buy-local-blooms-for-mothers-day/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">florists</a> – Christmas bells are a very popular bouquet addition – Pyke says the research might lead to ways to make fruit more productive.</p> <p>“It’d be very interesting to follow up from our research and do similar research on a plant like the blueberry, and see if the same kinds of phenomena are occurring, and see if that could lead to some way of manipulating what blueberries do in order to enhance the quantity or quality of their fruit production,” he says.</p> <p>“This is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of looking at how plants allocate resources.”</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i4p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <div style><a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/Q0f2"><p align="center"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-198773" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA4MzcgMjU5IiB3aWR0aD0iODM3IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI1OSIgZGF0YS11PSJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRmNvc21vc21hZ2F6aW5lLmNvbSUyRndwLWNvbnRlbnQlMkZ1cGxvYWRzJTJGMjAyNCUyRjA5JTJGVHJhdmVsLXdpdGgtc2NpZW50aXN0cy1lbWJlZF83Mjh4MjI1LXYxLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSI4MzciIGRhdGEtaD0iMjU5IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Buy the cosmos emag now" width="600" height="154" title="why do flowers wilt? we’ve finally found out 4"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-198773" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Travel-with-scientists-embed_728x225-v1.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Buy the cosmos emag now" width="600" height="154" title="why do flowers wilt? we’ve finally found out 4"></noscript></p></a></div>  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" width='1' height='1' style="opacity:0; height:1px!important; width:1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" aria-label="Syndication Tracker" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=315611&title=Why+do+flowers+wilt%3F+We%E2%80%99ve+finally+found+out" loading="lazy">  <div class="share-syndicate-wrapper margin-top-1"> <div id="cosmos-link-back">  <p>Originally published by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" style="font-style:italic;">Cosmos</a> as <a title="Why do flowers wilt? We’ve finally found out" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/" id="cosmos-post-url">Why do flowers wilt? We’ve finally found out</a></p>  </div> <div class="article-sharing"> <ul class="cols"> <li> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcosmosmagazine.com%2Fnature%2Fflowers-wilting-plants-explainer%2F" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Share on Facebook" onclick="window.open('https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcosmosmagazine.com%2Fnature%2Fflowers-wilting-plants-explainer%2F'); return false;" class="primary-svg-fill-hover"> <svg width="30" height="30"> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <circle cx="15" cy="15" r="14" stroke="#FFF" stroke-width="2"/> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M18 12.55075h-2.565572V10.5195c0-.6230625.594107-.7675625.8713992-.7675625h1.657358V7.01075L16.063679 7c-2.5916132 0-3.1831276 2.0439375-3.1831276 3.3545v2.1963125H11V15.375h1.8805514V23h2.5538766v-7.625h2.1694815L18 12.55075z"/> </g> </svg> </a> </li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=https%3A%2F%2Fcosmosmagazine.com%2Fnature%2Fflowers-wilting-plants-explainer%2F&title=Why%20do%20flowers%20wilt?%20We’ve%20finally%20found%20out&via=CosmosMagazine&hashtags=science" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Tweet" onclick="window.open('https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=https%3A%2F%2Fcosmosmagazine.com%2Fnature%2Fflowers-wilting-plants-explainer%2F&title=Why%20do%20flowers%20wilt?%20We’ve%20finally%20found%20out&via=CosmosMagazine&hashtags=science'); return false;" class="primary-svg-fill-hover"> <svg width="30" height="30" viewBox="0 0 30 30" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <circle cx="15" cy="15" r="14" fill="none" stroke="white" stroke-width="2" /> <path transform="matrix(0.011189,0,0,0.011189,8.28657,8)" d="M714.163 519.284L1160.89 0H1055.03L667.137 450.887L357.328 0H0L468.492 681.821L0 1226.37H105.866L515.491 750.218L842.672 1226.37H1200L714.137 519.284H714.163ZM569.165 687.828L521.697 619.934L144.011 79.6944H306.615L611.412 515.685L658.88 583.579L1055.08 1150.3H892.476L569.165 687.854V687.828Z" fill="white" /> </g> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div></div> </div> <div class="post-content-section"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> <aside class="col"> <div class="aside-content"> <div>  <div class="advert aside-ad ad-desktop auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2cc-i0p0" style="display: none"></div></div> </div> <div class="newsletter-sidebar margin-top-1"> <a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/OP59" class="newsletter-cta" data-device="desktop"> <img src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMDAgMjUwIiB3aWR0aD0iMzAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjQlMkYwMyUyRldlZWtseS1DYXRjaHVwLTMwMHgyNTAtMS5wbmciIGRhdGEtdz0iMzAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="Newsletter"><noscript data-spai="1"><img src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Weekly-Catchup-300x250-1.png" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Newsletter"></noscript> </a> </div> <div class="read-more-wrapper sidebar-wrapper margin-top-1 margin-bottom-1"> <div class="cols-1"> <h4 class="gradient-title margin-top-0 margin-bottom-1">You Might Like</h4> </div> <ul class="article-listing read-more-articles slider slide-last-20 cols-1 md-cols-1 rows-gap-1-dotted rows-list"> <li class="row read-more-articles__list"> <div class="article article-post"> <a class="thumbnail ar-16-9 md-ar-1-1" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/plants/corpse-flower-smell-heat-explained/" aria-label="Article link"> <span data-spai-bg-on="1" class="image" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDY3NSIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLXU9Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGY29zbW9zbWFnYXppbmUuY29tJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDIzJTJGMDclMkYxMjAwLTE2LU1vcnBoeS1EaXB0eWNoLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSIxMjAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjY3NSIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+);background-position: 50% 50%" data-position-x="50" data-position-y="50" data-image-width="1200" data-image-height="675"> </span> </a> <div class="article-content padding-1"> <div class="cols-8"> <a class="primary-category cols-1 col-span-7 category nature-color" href="/nature/plants/"> Plants </a> <div class="favourite__wrapper row cols"> <button class="showDialog simplefavorite-button" aria-label="Favourite button"> </button> </div> </div> <a class="title" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/plants/corpse-flower-smell-heat-explained/" aria-label="Article link"> <h2 class=" ">Why do corpse flowers smell so bad?</h2> </a> </div> </div> </li> <li class="row read-more-articles__list"> <div class="article article-post"> <a class="thumbnail ar-16-9 md-ar-1-1" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/plants/flummoxing-flowers-facts/" aria-label="Article link"> <span data-spai-bg-on="1" class="image" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDY3NSIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLXU9Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGY29zbW9zbWFnYXppbmUuY29tJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDIzJTJGMDklMkYxMjAwLVJhZmZsZXNpYS1rZW11bXUtaW4tdGhlLXJhaW5mb3Jlc3Qtb2YtU3VtYXRyYS5qcGciIGRhdGEtdz0iMTIwMCIgZGF0YS1oPSI2NzUiIGRhdGEtYmlwPSIiPjwvc3ZnPg==);background-position: 50% 50%" data-position-x="50" data-position-y="50" data-image-width="1200" data-image-height="675"> </span> </a> <div class="article-content padding-1"> <div class="cols-8"> <a class="primary-category cols-1 col-span-7 category nature-color" href="/nature/plants/"> Plants </a> <div class="favourite__wrapper row cols"> <button class="showDialog simplefavorite-button" aria-label="Favourite button"> </button> </div> </div> <a class="title" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/plants/flummoxing-flowers-facts/" aria-label="Article link"> <h2 class=" ">Fairy lanterns and corpse flowers: 6 flummoxing flower facts</h2> </a> </div> </div> </li> <li class="row read-more-articles__list"> <div class="article article-post"> <a class="thumbnail ar-16-9 md-ar-1-1" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/plants/largest-flowers-facing-extinction/" aria-label="Article link"> <span data-spai-bg-on="1" class="image" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDY3NSIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLXU9Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGY29zbW9zbWFnYXppbmUuY29tJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDIzJTJGMDklMkYxMjAwLVJhZmZsZXNpYS1rZW11bXUtaW4tdGhlLXJhaW5mb3Jlc3Qtb2YtU3VtYXRyYS5qcGciIGRhdGEtdz0iMTIwMCIgZGF0YS1oPSI2NzUiIGRhdGEtYmlwPSIiPjwvc3ZnPg==);background-position: 50% 50%" data-position-x="50" data-position-y="50" data-image-width="1200" data-image-height="675"> </span> </a> <div class="article-content padding-1"> <div class="cols-8"> <a class="primary-category cols-1 col-span-7 category nature-color" href="/nature/plants/"> Plants </a> <div class="favourite__wrapper row cols"> <button class="showDialog simplefavorite-button" aria-label="Favourite button"> </button> </div> </div> <a class="title" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/plants/largest-flowers-facing-extinction/" aria-label="Article link"> <h2 class=" ">World’s largest flowers are facing extinction</h2> </a> </div> </div> </li> <li class="row read-more-articles__list"> <div class="article article-post"> <a class="thumbnail ar-16-9 md-ar-1-1" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/plants/night-work-moths-pollinate-plants-under-cover-of-darkness/" aria-label="Article link"> <span data-spai-bg-on="1" class="image" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDY3NSIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLXU9Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGY29zbW9zbWFnYXppbmUuY29tJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDIzJTJGMDYlMkZHZXR0eUltYWdlcy0xMTQzMjAzNjM2LmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSIxMjAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjY3NSIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+);background-position: 50% 50%" data-position-x="50" data-position-y="50" data-image-width="1200" data-image-height="675"> </span> </a> <div class="article-content padding-1"> <div class="cols-8"> <a class="primary-category cols-1 col-span-7 category nature-color" href="/nature/plants/"> Plants </a> <div class="favourite__wrapper row cols"> <button class="showDialog simplefavorite-button" aria-label="Favourite button"> </button> </div> </div> <a class="title" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/plants/night-work-moths-pollinate-plants-under-cover-of-darkness/" aria-label="Article link"> <h2 class=" ">Night work: Moths pollinate plants under cover of darkness</h2> </a> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </aside> </section>  <div class="advert ad-bottom-sticky-mobile ad-mobile auh-50"><div id="adn-00000000001fc737-i0p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <div class="advert ad-post-bottom padding-bottom-4 ad-desktop auh-90"><div id="adn-000000000023d099-i0p0" style="display: none"></div></div>  <div class="advert ad-post-bottom padding-bottom-4 ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-000000000023d09a-i0p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <div class="single-post-loadmore-wrap entry-content"> <div id="single-post-load-more-content" class="single-post-loadmore"> </div> <div class="load-more-trigger"> <div id="single-post-load-more-btn" data-page="0" data-single-post-id="315611" class="button-tertiary" data-max-pages="5"> <span id="single-loading-text" class="mt-1 hidden text-sm">Loading next article...</span> </div> </div> </div> </main> </div> <dialog class="favourite__dialog" id="favouriteDialog"> <div class="favourite__dialog__body"> <p>Please login to favourite this article.</p> </div> <div class="favourite__dialog__footer"> <button class="button closeDialog">Close</button> <button class="button loginUrl">Login</button> </div> </dialog><footer class="footer"> <div class="inner-container"> <div class="footer-branding cols-1"> <a class="brand" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/"> <img src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA4MzkgMTUxIiB3aWR0aD0iODM5IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjE1MSIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjQlMkYwMyUyRkNvc21vc19sb2dvX3doaXRlLnN2ZyIgZGF0YS13PSI4MzkiIGRhdGEtaD0iMTUxIiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Cosmos" width="300"><noscript data-spai="1"><img src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/ret_img/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Cosmos_logo_white.svg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Cosmos" width="300"></noscript> </a> </div> <div class="content cols-4 md-cols-2 sm-cols-1"> <div class="item menu"> <ul id="menu-footer-menu" class="nav"><li id="menu-item-313731" class="menu-item menu-subscribe-now"><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/subscribe-now/">Subscribe Now</a></li> <li id="menu-item-1345" class="menu-item menu-about-us"><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/about-us/">About Us</a></li> <li id="menu-item-1346" class="menu-item menu-faq"><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/faq/">FAQ</a></li> <li id="menu-item-1357" class="menu-item menu-terms-of-use"><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/terms/">Terms of use</a></li> <li id="menu-item-257148" class="menu-item menu-schools"><a href="https://education.cosmosmagazine.com">Schools</a></li> <li id="menu-item-100218" class="menu-item menu-contact-us"><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contact-us/">Contact us</a></li> <li id="menu-item-239226" class="menu-item menu-privacy-policy"><a rel="privacy-policy" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/privacy/">Privacy Policy</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="item about"> <p class="about">'Cosmos' and 'The Science of Everything' are registered trademarks in Australia and owned by CSIRO. </p> </div> <div class="item contact"> <p>T: 1300 719623 (Australia)<br /> E: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4f262129200f2c203c22203c612c3c263d20612e3a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b4dddad2dbf4d7dbc7d9dbc79ad7c7ddc6db9ad5c1">[email protected]</span></a></p> <p>Address:</p> <p>Cosmos,</p> <p>CSIRO Publishing,</p> <p>PO Box 10041,</p> <p>Adelaide SA 5001</p> <p>Australia</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </div> <div class="item newsletter"> <a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/OP59" class="newsletter-cta" data-device="desktop"> <img src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMDAgMjUwIiB3aWR0aD0iMzAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjQlMkYwMyUyRldlZWtseS1DYXRjaHVwLTMwMHgyNTAtMS5wbmciIGRhdGEtdz0iMzAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="Newsletter"><noscript data-spai="1"><img src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Weekly-Catchup-300x250-1.png" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Newsletter"></noscript> </a><a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/OP59" class="newsletter-cta" data-device="mobile"> <img src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMDAgMjUwIiB3aWR0aD0iMzAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjQlMkYwMyUyRldlZWtseS1DYXRjaHVwLTMwMHgyNTAtMS5wbmciIGRhdGEtdz0iMzAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="Newsletter"><noscript data-spai="1"><img src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Weekly-Catchup-300x250-1.png" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Newsletter"></noscript> </a> <ul class="social"> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CosmosMagazine/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" class="primary-svg-fill-hover" aria-label="Cosmos Facebook"><svg width="30" height="30"> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <circle cx="15" cy="15" r="14" stroke="#FFF" stroke-width="2"/> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M18 12.55075h-2.565572V10.5195c0-.6230625.594107-.7675625.8713992-.7675625h1.657358V7.01075L16.063679 7c-2.5916132 0-3.1831276 2.0439375-3.1831276 3.3545v2.1963125H11V15.375h1.8805514V23h2.5538766v-7.625h2.1694815L18 12.55075z"/> </g> </svg> </a></li> <li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/cosmosmagazine/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" class="primary-svg-fill-hover" aria-label="Cosmos Instagram"><svg width="30" height="30"> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <circle cx="15" cy="15" r="14" stroke="#FFF" stroke-width="2"/> <path fill="#FFF" d="M20.6086957 19.533913c0 .5930435-.4817392 1.0730435-1.0730435 1.0730435H10.466087c-.59304352 0-1.07478265-.48-1.07478265-1.0730435V15H11.133913c0 .0034783-.0017391.0052174-.0017391.0086957 0 2.133913 1.7356522 3.8695652 3.8678261 3.8695652 2.133913 0 3.8695652-1.7356522 3.8695652-3.8695652 0-.0034783-.0017391-.0052174-.0017391-.0086957h1.7408696v4.533913zM15 12.44c1.4191304 0 2.5704348 1.1495652 2.5704348 2.5686957 0 1.4191304-1.1513044 2.5704347-2.5704348 2.5704347-1.4191304 0-2.5686957-1.1513043-2.5686957-2.5704347C12.4313043 13.5895652 13.5808696 12.44 15 12.44zm2.573913-.0852174h2.0139131v-2.013913H17.573913v2.013913zM19.5356522 8H10.466087C9.10956522 8 8 9.10956522 8 10.4643478v9.0695652C8 20.8904348 9.10956522 22 10.466087 22h9.0695652C20.8904348 22 22 20.8904348 22 19.533913v-9.0695652C22 9.10956522 20.8904348 8 19.5356522 8z"/> </g> </svg> </a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/CosmosMagazine" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" class="primary-svg-fill-hover" aria-label="Cosmos Twitter"><svg width="30" height="30" viewBox="0 0 30 30" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <circle cx="15" cy="15" r="14" fill="none" stroke="white" stroke-width="2" /> <path transform="matrix(0.011189,0,0,0.011189,8.28657,8)" d="M714.163 519.284L1160.89 0H1055.03L667.137 450.887L357.328 0H0L468.492 681.821L0 1226.37H105.866L515.491 750.218L842.672 1226.37H1200L714.137 519.284H714.163ZM569.165 687.828L521.697 619.934L144.011 79.6944H306.615L611.412 515.685L658.88 583.579L1055.08 1150.3H892.476L569.165 687.854V687.828Z" fill="white" /> </g> </svg> </a></li> <li><a href="https://flipboard.com/@CosmosMagazine" target="_blank" class="primary-svg-fill-hover" aria-label="Cosmos Flipboard"><svg width="30" height="30"> <g > <circle cx="15" cy="15" r="14" stroke="#FFF" style="fill:none;stroke-width:2px;"/> <path fill="#FFF" transform="matrix(0.0466667,0,0,0.0466667,3.33333,3.33333)" d="M400,200L300,200L300,300L200,300L200,400L100,400L100,100L400,100L400,200Z"/> </g> </svg> </a></li> <li><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/1667224" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" class="primary-svg-fill-hover" aria-label="Cosmos Buzzsprout"><svg width="30" height="30"> <g> <circle cx="15" cy="15" r="14" stroke="#FFF" style="fill:none;stroke-width:2px;"/> <path fill="#FFF" d="M17.354,12.171L18.656,12.171L18.656,13.243C18.653,14.978 17.384,16.416 15.711,16.751L15.711,21.722L14.314,21.722L14.314,16.766C12.599,16.463 11.287,15.007 11.285,13.243L11.285,12.171L12.524,12.171L12.524,11.433L17.354,11.433L17.354,12.171ZM9.497,20.189C11.167,21.86 14.058,21.679 14.058,21.679C14.058,21.679 14.238,18.79 12.567,17.119C10.896,15.448 8.006,15.628 8.006,15.628C8.006,15.628 7.826,18.518 9.497,20.189ZM20.503,20.189C18.832,21.86 15.942,21.679 15.942,21.679C15.942,21.679 15.762,18.79 17.433,17.119C19.104,15.448 21.994,15.628 21.994,15.628C21.994,15.628 22.174,18.518 20.503,20.189ZM12.524,12.854L11.97,12.854L11.97,13.243C11.972,14.614 12.97,15.779 14.314,16.07L14.314,15.349C13.283,15.085 12.524,14.182 12.524,13.109L12.524,12.854ZM17.354,12.854L17.354,13.109C17.354,14.13 16.666,14.997 15.711,15.307L15.711,16.051C17.012,15.73 17.969,14.585 17.971,13.243L17.971,12.854L17.354,12.854ZM17.355,10.319C17.355,9.039 16.273,8 14.939,8C13.606,8 12.524,9.039 12.524,10.319C12.524,11.435 12.524,10.935 12.524,11.157L17.355,11.157L17.355,10.319Z" style="fill-rule:nonzero;"/> </g> </svg> </a></li> <li><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/feed" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" class="primary-svg-fill-hover" aria-label="Cosmos RSS feed"><svg width="30" height="30"> <defs/> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M15.0643691 0c8.2842713 0 15 6.71572875 15 15 0 8.2842712-6.7157287 15-15 15C6.7800979 30 .06436914 23.2842712.06436914 15c0-8.28427125 6.71572876-15 14.99999996-15zm0 2C7.8846674 2 2.06436914 7.82029825 2.06436914 15c0 7.1797017 5.82029826 13 12.99999996 13 7.1797018 0 13-5.8202983 13-13 0-7.17970175-5.8202982-13-13-13zM9.61448773 17.7505929c1.13224927 0 2.05011857.9178694 2.05011857 2.0501186s-.9178693 2.0501186-2.05011857 2.0501186c-1.13224923 0-2.05011859-.9178694-2.05011859-2.0501186s.91786936-2.0501186 2.05011859-2.0501186zm-2.05011859-5.4666412c5.18400766 0 9.41858876 4.1452018 9.56306776 9.2949295l.0038106.2719489h-2.7328081c0-3.6896155-2.939535-6.7050347-6.59949854-6.8290758l-.23457172-.0039695v-2.7338331zm0-4.7839517c7.80933326 0 14.18116996 6.2690823 14.34749786 14.0392347l.0033322.3115954h-2.732808c0-6.3080572-5.0522841-11.4563946-11.32319518-11.6133119l-.29482688-.0036851V7.5z"/> </svg></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </footer> <script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script><script> const paywallButton = document.querySelector('.wp-block-button__link'); function paywall_click_datalayer() { dataLayer.push({ 'event': 'paywall_click', 'paywall_name': '', 'page_location': 'https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/flowers-wilting-plants-explainer/' }); } if (paywallButton) { paywallButton.addEventListener('click', function() { paywall_click_datalayer(); }); } </script> <script> let previousMobileDevice = isMobileDevice(); // Request ads on page resize window.addEventListener('resize', function() { clearTimeout(window.resizedFinished); window.resizedFinished = setTimeout(function() { if (previousMobileDevice === isMobileDevice()) { return; } adUnitsServed = []; previousMobileDevice = isMobileDevice(); adUnitsServed = requestThirdPartyAds(adUnits, adUnitsServed); }, 1000); }); /** Handle loadmore article */ const handleLoadmore = (mutationsList) => { for (let mutation of mutationsList) { if (mutation.type === 'childList') { for (let addedNode of mutation.addedNodes) { if (addedNode.nodeType === Node.ELEMENT_NODE && addedNode.matches('section.article-container')) { // Fixed the selector here clearTimeout(window.domHeightChangeFinished); window.domHeightChangeFinished = setTimeout(() => { // console.log('The specific <section> was added!'); adUnitsServed = requestThirdPartyAds(adUnits, adUnitsServed); }, 250); } } } } }; const loadmoreNode = document.getElementById('single-post-load-more-content'); if (loadmoreNode) { const observer = new MutationObserver(handleLoadmore); observer.observe(loadmoreNode, { childList: true, subtree: false // This is set false because we only want to observe direct children of the target node }); } /** END: Handle loadmore article */ // Prevents the page from jumping when the ad loads adUnitsServed.forEach(function(adUnit) { let adUnitDiv = document.getElementById(adUnit.targetId); let adUnitDivParentClass = adUnitDiv.parentNode.className; if (!adUnitDiv || adUnitDivParentClassArray.includes(adUnitDivParentClass)) { return; } adUnitDivParentClassArray.push(adUnitDivParentClass); let adUnitDivStyle = window.getComputedStyle(adUnitDiv); let adUnitDivHeight = parseInt(adUnit.auH) + parseInt(adUnitDivStyle.marginTop) + parseInt(adUnitDivStyle.marginBottom) + parseInt(adUnitDivStyle.paddingTop) + parseInt(adUnitDivStyle.paddingBottom); let style = document.createElement('style'); style.type = 'text/css'; style.innerHTML = '.' + adUnitDivParentClass.replace(/ /g, '.') + ' { min-height: ' + adUnitDivHeight + 'px; }'; document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(style); }); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> (function () { var c = document.body.className; c = c.replace(/woocommerce-no-js/, 'woocommerce-js'); document.body.className = c; })(); </script> <script type='text/javascript' id='metorik-js-js-extra'> /* <![CDATA[ */ var metorik_params = {"lifetime":"6","session":"30","ajaxurl":"https:\/\/cosmosmagazine.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","cart_tracking":"1","cart_items":"0","cart_checkout_button":"1","add_cart_popup_placement":"bottom","send_cart_events":"added_to_cart removed_from_cart updated_cart_totals updated_shipping_method applied_coupon removed_coupon updated_checkout","sbjs_domain":"","send_cart_fragments":"1"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script defer src="https://cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/cache/minify/ddaa7.js?x75256"></script> <script type='text/javascript' id='sage/main.js-js-extra'> /* <![CDATA[ */ var mainScript = {"ajaxUrl":"https:\/\/cosmosmagazine.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","ajax_nonce":"d4ef00f5cd","is_user_logged_in":""}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script src="/wp-content/themes/cosmos/dist/scripts/main.js?x75256&v=2bb182da"></script><script type='text/javascript' id='loadmore-js-extra'> /* <![CDATA[ */ var siteConfig = {"ajaxUrl":"https:\/\/cosmosmagazine.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","ajax_nonce":"78cd353247"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script defer src="https://cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/cache/minify/fef85.js?x75256"></script> <script src="https://cdn.onesignal.com/sdks/OneSignalSDK.js?ver=6.3.5" async="async"></script> </div> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

Why do flowers wilt? We’ve finally found out