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Blossoms: The complex secrets of spring’s simple beauty

Spring’s delicate riot of colour is a complex story of genes and chemistry and explaining it well turns out to be tough going

By Adrian Barnett

25 April 2018

blossom — The simple beauty of blossom is caused by complex genetics
Adrian Talbot/Millennium Images, UK

THE beautiful blossoms that mark spring might well be a feast for the eyes, but they are also a fascinating puzzle. How do buds form? Why do they flower at a precise time? What allows the range of colours?

blossom — The simple beauty of blossom is caused by complex genetics
Adrian Talbot/Millennium Images, UK

As molecular physiologist Maxine Singer explains in Blossoms, it is only in the past 30 years that revolutions in genetics have allowed science to give meaningful answers. Whatever can be understood can…

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