Why Roses Smell Nice
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Why Roses Smell Nice
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Re: Why Roses Smell Nice
#2Your rose smells nice because it was bred to smell nice by human breeders. All the different varieties of cultivated roses that we have today are the product of hybridizing and selective breeding (“artificial selection”) of twelve or so wild rose species; a process that has continued over hundreds if not thousands of years.
While not a hard and fast rule, most plant species with strongly scented flowers usually are white (jasmine, gardenia, etc.) and pollinated by nocturnal animals like moths and bats. (A great counter-example is corpse flowers, which use scent to attract a completely different guild of pollinators).
Re: Why Roses Smell Nice
#3This is all about chemistry and genetics. But nothing on 'why roses smell nice'.
It's really a puzzle. Why on earth should Homo Sapiens consider a rose's smell to be 'nice'? Dogs like roses' smell about the same as shit. They don't give a damn.
Further, why are rainbows pretty? Why is a waterfall inspiring? And on and on.
You have to have some kind of special model to explain this, I think. Something beyond simple reproductive survival. But I don't know what.
Anyway, interesting that we all smell slightly differently! So indeed qualia is a bigger issue than we may have thought.
Re: Why Roses Smell Nice
#4This is all about chemistry and genetics. But nothing on 'why roses smell nice'. It's really a puzzle. Why on earth should Homo Sapiens consider a rose's smell to be 'nice'? Dogs like roses' smell about the same as shit. They don't give a damn. Further, why are rainbows pretty? Why is a waterfall inspiring? And on and on. You have to have some kind of special model to explain this, I think. Something beyond simple re…
I've seen the argument before that humans find flowers pretty because they indicate fertile land, where there are flowers there will be animals, etc. Impossible to really know, I suppose.
Re: Why Roses Smell Nice
#5I find it extremely difficult to reliably find roses for sale that actually smell like anything at all.
Re: Why Roses Smell Nice
#6This is all about chemistry and genetics. But nothing on 'why roses smell nice'. It's really a puzzle. Why on earth should Homo Sapiens consider a rose's smell to be 'nice'? Dogs like roses' smell about the same as shit. They don't give a damn. Further, why are rainbows pretty? Why is a waterfall inspiring? And on and on. You have to have some kind of special model to explain this, I think. Something beyond simple re…
It could possibly be ancestral from some specie that relied on flowers in a more direct way.
Re: Why Roses Smell Nice
#7I find it extremely difficult to reliably find roses for sale that actually smell like anything at all.
Most home garden friendly roses are bred for disease resistance, climate, pest resistance, and flower production. Scent isn't in there.
I have a 'Honey Perfume' that smells nice, but most of the other varieties I have only have very faint scents.
Re: Why Roses Smell Nice
#8I find it extremely difficult to reliably find roses for sale that actually smell like anything at all.
Here’s 206 roses trees varieties ready to order [0]. GF is a lot into flowers and got a lot of stuff from this store, highly recommend them for any plant, great quality and care. Europe only I guess.
[0] https://www.promessedefleurs.com/rosiers/rosiers-parfumes.ht...
Re: Why Roses Smell Nice
#9Your rose smells nice because it was bred to smell nice by human breeders. All the different varieties of cultivated roses that we have today are the product of hybridizing and selective breeding (“artificial selection”) of twelve or so wild rose species; a process that has continued over hundreds if not thousands of years. While not a hard and fast rule, most plant species with strongly scented flowers usually are w…
Where I live roses grow wild and always have. They smell as good as cultivated roses.
Re: Why Roses Smell Nice
#10I find it extremely difficult to reliably find roses for sale that actually smell like anything at all.
I concur. Even roses which are extremely expensive and nominally "highly scented" don't smell at all, anymore. I used to have to go on a hunt for a varietal with scent, and now even with a lot of hunting, I can't find them anymore.
The problem is apparently that some enzyme that makes scent also tends to break down the flower. So, the "lifetime" of a cut rose is inversely dependent upon the volume of scent.
And, since everything is shipped around the world from the absolute lowest cost area, "lifetime" becomes the only goal with everything else being secondary.
Thus, we have roses with no scent.