"First Flower"

I was watching PBS last night and saw a commercial for a new documentary called First Flower. It grabbed my attention because of all the floral imagery and some time-lapse photography of blooms and the voice over spoke of discovering the origins of flowers.

"...Flowers have long been at the center of human life. They grace our gardens, brighten our homes, express our gratitude, and even reveal the secrets of our hearts. But they are also essential to human survival. Flowering plants—which include not just our favorite roses, daffodils, and orchids but also wheat, rice, and corn—provide food and medicine and drive national economies. Yet for all our love and need of flowers, until recently, the basic questions about how flowers evolved into the most important and prolific of plants have confounded scientists. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin himself called the dazzling variety of flowers "an abominable mystery," and the puzzle of how flowers came to make up 95 percent of all plants on Earth continues today..."

There is also a companion website for the program with added features and videos. The companion site has a cool feature where you can test yours skills of matching up a flower and pollinator, can you match all seven flowers and pollinators?


First Flower-Tuesday, April 17 at 8pm