Unless they're cultivating vegetables or fruits, most gardeners view flowers as exquisite, sometimes fragrant structures that help make landscapes appealing. But speaking biologically, flowers are plants’ reproductive organs, and their colors and aromas exist to attract pollinators — not to enchant gardeners.

The successful development of flowers, however, depends greatly on plant species and growing conditions. An example of this double dependence was described by botanist and explorer David Fairchild in his book ‘’The World was My Garden.’’ While cruising off the arid Coast of Chile around 1900, Fairchild’s traveling companion told him they were approaching an island that was so dry no plants or seeds could be collected.

But for the first time in over eight years — and just before their arrival — rain had fallen on Paita Island and triggered long-dormant seeds to germinate. Already, Fairchild wrote, tiny annuals just 2 or 3 inches tall were flowering as if they knew they must set seed in a hurry. Botanists report that such events are common in the Saharan region, with as many as 10 years between seed production and germination.

Another instance of conditions determining when plants flower involves Corypha palms, which range from Tropical Asia to Australia. The largest of these species is C. umbraculifera, which grows 90 feet tall and develops a 4-foot-thick trunk. Known as talipot palm, this gigantic plant is monocarpic, meaning it flowers once in its life and then dies. Its flowering, however, is the most dramatic and spectacular in the world because its treelike inflorescence (flower stalk and blossoms) can be 30 feet tall and 40 feet wide and weigh up to a ton. Interestingly, all talipot palms in an area are said to bloom simultaneously, and since their common age can be anywhere from 30 to 80 years old, it’s obvious that environmental factors prompt flowering.

Also with a show of synchronicity regarding flowering followed by death are many species of bamboo. In Asia, bamboo forests once covered vast expanses, but as with forests everywhere, many have been destroyed. In the past, creatures such as pandas would — upon the loss of their home forest and their food supply — journey to the closest still-verdant forest. That’s no longer possible.

Particularly startling are instances of biennial plants — which typically live for two years before flowering and dying — persisting up to five years until conditions become appropriate for flowering, seed production and seedling survival.

Charles Reynolds, a Winter Haven resident, has an associate’s degree in horticulture and is a member of Garden Writers Association of America.