From where does a flower get its small?It 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.Insects that smell the oil fly to the flower,where they leave behind them the pollen that the flower needs to grow seeds.Some plants do not need insects to bring pollen.They depend on the wind to bring it.These plants usually have little smell or no smell at all.