I actually do not know. I neither remember where I took this photo of obviously flourishing coltsfoot.

However, I came across media reports on a recent study by Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. The study suggests that flowers indeed suffer from noise pollution, particularly in urban areas and along highways, on the realm of botany.

The researchers started by cultivating a selection of flowers commonly found in cities in the laboratory and then divided them into two groups. One group was left to grow in peace, while the other was exposed to daily traffic noise – the 73-decibel sound of which was recorded on a highway. After a good two weeks, the scientists examined the plants’ leaves.

The results were nothing short of eye-opening. The flowers exposed to the simulated traffic noise exhibited a noticeable phenomenon: stunted growth. None of the plants exposed to the noise developed well. Chemical compounds were found in high concentrations in the leaves, which are considered indicators of exceptional stress in plants. According to the analysis, the levels were two to three times higher than in the comparison group. Lower growth and a smaller number of germinating seeds were observed.

Stress caused by road noise not only harms people, but also plants. In contrast, the concentration of certain hormones that stimulate growth and ensure general plant health was significantly lower. The leaves in the comparison group were measurably larger and heavier. In addition, the resilience of the noise-stressed plants to cold temperatures, drought and insects harmful to them decreased.

Students of Mentor High School in Ohio, USA, conducted a similar experiment. They inquired the impact of traffic noise pollution on plant growth within urban community gardens. Again, two sets of plants were exposed to different noise levels, this time over a period of six weeks. And again, the results showed a statistically significant difference in average plant height and weight between the two conditional groups.