seemingly perverse love of mustard and
pepper and onions. This is the essential appeal
of herbs and spices, as we’ll see in chapter 8.
Why Ripe Fruits Are Especially Delicious
The higher plants and animals reproduce by
fusing genetic material from male and female
sex organs, usually from different individuals.
Animals have the advantage of being mobile:
male and female can sense each other’s
presence and move toward each other. Plants
can’t move, and instead have to depend on
mobile go-betweens. The male pollen of most
land plants is carried to the female ovule by
the wind or by animals. To encourage animals
to help out, advanced plants evolved the
flower, an organ whose shape, color, and scent
are designed to attract a particular assistant,
usually an insect. As it flies around and
collects nutritious nectar or pollen for food,
the insect spreads the pollen from one plant to
another.