from where does a flower get its smell? gets its small from an oil that the plant produces. the oil is volatile. long ago, volatile meant flying. the oil seems to be flying, for it escapes into the air. lnsects smell the oil fly to the flowre, where they leave behind them the pollen that the flower needs to grow seeds. some plants do not need insecth to bring pollen. they depend on the wind to bring it. these plants usually have little smell or no smell at all.