FLOWERS WORLD

A Brief History
In cultures around the world as far back in history as we have any records, flowers provided emotional information among peoples. Pollen was found in the graves of Neanderthals suggesting that the flowers had a place in the burial (Solecki, 1971), although the significance of the pollen is still in dispute (Sommer, 1999). Flowers are expected to convey sympathy, contrition (guilt), romance (sexual intent) or celebration (pride and joy) (Heilmeyer, 2001). Flowers are also used to express religious feelings and in some religions are considered the direct route for spiritual communication. (Stenta, 1930). Of course, some flowers are used for personal adornment, both the blossoms themselves and their essences in the form of perfumes. The vast majority of personal commercial fragrances have a floral top- and/or mid-note. In spite of some basic survival uses, such as edible or medicinal flowers, most flowering plants grown in the flower industry in modern times are not used for any purpose other than emotional. Floriculture crops in the United States accounted for at least 4.9 billion dollars in sales in 2001 (USDA, 2003). This amount seriously underestimates the floral economy because it does not include imports.
Evolutionary Psychology – ISSN 1474-7049 – Volume 3. 2005. - 105 -

Naive psychology argues that flowers are desired because of learned associations with social events. However, the ubiquity of flower use across culture and history and the lack of easy substitutes for the many uses of flowers suggest that there may be something other than this simple association. Flowers may influence social-emotional behavior more directly or may prime such behavior. That is, flowering plants may have adapted to an emotional niche.