Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American transcendentalist philosopher, once said that the rose speaks all languages. Little did he know it could sing, as well -- or at least that 168 years after he uttered his profoundly metaphoric remark a literal-minded Japanese corporation would invent a way for roses and lots of other plants not just to "sing" but to transmit and amplify sounds of any kind. Which means Gertrude Stein got it wrong, too: Nowadays, a rose is a rose is a high-fidelity audio speaker. But would she and Emerson have been impressed by this 21st-century development? Well, maybe.
It's pretty ingenious, if you think about it. The inspiringly titled Let's Corp., a telecommunications-equipment company based in Nagoya, fashioned a vase that connects any flower, branch or bamboo stalk sitting in it to a sound source: a CD player or a television, for example. There is also a model that works with potted plants. Flick a switch, and the vibrations of jazz or J-Pop or the evening news are relayed up the stems through the plant's capillary tubes to float forth from the blossoms. Let's Corp.'s president told the Associated Press recently that gerberas and sunflowers make the best flower speakers -- something to do with radiating sound efficiently in all directions. (And there we were thinking lilies and daffodils would take the honors. They have trumpets, after all.)
Let's Corp. calls its device ka-on, or "flower sound" and sales have reportedly been brisk since the launch in July. The company recommends ka-on for table arrangements at weddings and in restaurants, and for hospital reception desks, but the possibilities are endless, especially once the promised wireless LAN version becomes available. Floral karaoke. A bouquet that does four-part harmony (what an improvement on the singing telegram). A bed of cosmos playing Gustav Holst's "Planets Suite." A whole new art form: the string tree-o. Dazzling possibilities have opened up for those who make a living "saying it with flowers."